
#GalsNGear founder Amy DeLouise explains how media technology trade shows can take intentional steps to fully reflect the full diversity of people who are part of our fast-changing industry
By Contributor
Published: April 8, 2024 Updated: April 9, 2024
#GalsNGear founder Amy DeLouise explains how media technology trade shows can take intentional steps to fully reflect the full diversity of people who are part of our fast-changing industry
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin> #GalsNGear founder Amy DeLouise explains how media technology trade shows can take intentional steps to fully reflect the full diversity of people who are part of our fast-changing industry
https://www.tvbeurope.com/business/people/opinion-why-trade-shows-can-and-must-evolve title=Share via Email class=share-email>
Take a look around any trade show floor in the media, entertainment or tech industry and you'll notice something. Or rather, the lack of something. Women. Especially women of colour. While there are more women in sales and marketing now than in decades past, trade shows in our industry are still something of a white bro-fest as a leading technologist I know once dubbed them. Manels -all male panels-are still common, despite plenty of women with expertise in a range of technical tools, workflows and case studies.
Why worry? If we are to be sustainable as a constantly evolving industry, we need our trade shows to reflect the people who design and use the tools we are selling, and consume the content we make. Take software demos. It's still common for a woman to be at the welcome desk, but for a guy to be running the demo.
Booths selling cameras may still feature a seductively clothed female model draping herself over a chair, reading a book, while guys line up to look at her through different lenses. Why should a silent, sexualised woman be the subject of the lens and not hosting the demo? And yet there are literally thousands of women camera operators. (At #GALSNGEAR, we have often brought DP's and other tech-saavy women to host demos at trade show booths. And thankfully, many of our allies and partners are already doing just that!)
Where are the women? One company owner told me we have trouble finding lady engineers . (Could that be because women don't want to work for a company that calls them lady engineers ?) In fairness, women do get fewer engineering degrees than men. However, women with these skills are not gravitating to our media & entertainment field. According to Pew Research, in 2021, women made up 50 per cent of those employed in STEM jobs in the US. That number is 25 per cent in the UK. Pew's assessment showed women with STEM degrees are opting into healthcare, rather than computer science or engineering jobs. Women in healthcare are more likely to be promoted, with peers and mentors who are also women. They can see a path to leadership; they belong. We could make that happen in M&E.
Why does It matter? According to Gallup, the cost of replacing an employee can range from one-half to two times the employee's annual salary. Investing in retention is a smart business move. Companies can do this by nominating younger and more diverse members of their team to participate in trade show events alongside veterans. Make your case that this is not a marketing budget line item. It is a Human Resources and employee retention investment.
Released at the Grace Hopper Celebration, the world's largest gathering of women technologists, the Capital One Women in Tech 2019 survey revealed a number of top factors cited by women who reached leadership positions in tech. Retention was driven by having a sense of purpose at work , which is why trade shows can make a difference. Because these gatherings foster a shared sense of purpose.
Educational sessions help us to be visible, be recognised, and see how our own work plays a role in the larger industry. And of course, we have a drink with old friends and meet new ones, building key networks for ourselves and our companies. Attendees feel a greater sense of belonging. They see the big picture. They're more likely to stick to a career path in our industry. And we need them at every level of the career pipeline.
What's on our trade show checklist?
Trade shows that haven't already should explicitly ban scantily clothed models and sexualized content on the booth. Most have already done so.
Attending companies can coach less experienced attendees how to navigate the experience. Introduce them around. Help them build their networks. Through #GALSNGEAR, we will be bringing a dozen career professionals and students to NAB Show. Most have never attended. More than half are women of colour. At the show, our Women's Leadership Summit showcases women in media talking about technology and building your leadership brand. We have also brought diverse voices to speak on technical topics to Infocomm, SXSW, and IBC. This is just a small step towards supporting that sense of belonging so vital to our industry's sustainability.
Conference organisers should not accept all-male panels in their programming, period. Adding a woman moderator isn't the solution. If you've been invited to speak on a panel, before accepting, ask for the gender and racial breakdown of your session, and suggest qualified participants who don't look like you. And yes, this could mean reaching out beyond your usual I know a guy networks. #GALSNGEAR and many other women's organisations are here to help. Since 2016, we have placed more than 350 expert speakers who also happen to be women.
We have a way to go before the trade show floor reflects the full diversity of people who we serve and who will be a part of our fast-changing industry. But by taking intentional steps as individuals a
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
09/09/2026
Sony Electronics has announced the SEL814G, the company's first fisheye zoom G Lens for full-frame Alpha E-mount cameras. The lens will be available in Octo...
09/09/2026
Telestream has announced an expansion of its Practical AI capabilities across th...
09/09/2026
Haivision and Chyron have announced a technology partnership integrating Haivisi...
09/09/2026
Omaha Productions has released ManningCast: Heist, a short film featuring Peyton and Eli Manning attempting to break into NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's o...
09/09/2026
Imagine Communications will demonstrate the next evolution of XVR at IBC2026 (Stand 1.B73, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14).
XVR is Imagine's channel-in-a-b...
09/09/2026
swXtch.io has announced abbe, an AI-based orchestration layer for live media workflows, making its world premiere at IBC2026 (Meeting Room 5.MR13, Hall 5, Septe...
09/09/2026
NFL Films has announced the second season of Inside the NFL on X as an X Original, premiering Wednesday, September 9. The series marks Inside the NFL's 50th...
09/09/2026
LiveU has announced an expanded partnership with The Associated Press, deploying the largest fleet of LU900Q intelligent production units in the industry as par...
09/09/2026
Diversified has announced plans to consolidate its four existing New Jersey locations into a new facility in Newark, expected to be fully operational by the end...
09/09/2026
Wisycom will exhibit new RF products at IBC2026 (Stand 8.D60, September 11-14), including the MATF Wideband Antenna Matrix, PFL Portable RF over Fiber Box, and ...
09/09/2026
Guntermann & Drunck (G&D) and VuWall, both Panoptec companies, will introduce vsNEO at IBC2026 (Stand 8.B63, September 11, RAI Amsterdam). Pre-orders open in ea...
09/09/2026
Mo-Sys has completed a business restructuring and relocated to a new facility in Canada Water, London. As part of the reorganization, Selin Kemal has been promo...
09/09/2026
Aicox has integrated TAG Video Systems' Core monitoring platform into Telef nica's TSAmediaHUB audiovisual contribution and distribution infrastructure....
09/09/2026
Blackmagic Design has released DaVinci Resolve 21.1, a free update available now through the Blackmagic Design website. The release adds new AI tools, workflow ...
09/09/2026
ESPN and Apple Music have announced a collaboration on music curation for Monday...
09/09/2026
Sacramento Production Services has completed a wireless audio overhaul at Sutter Health Park, home of the Athletics during their three-year residency in Sacrame...
09/09/2026
NDI and NVIDIA have announced a collaboration to develop AI-powered workflows enabling broadcasters to create and distribute multilingual content from a single ...
09/09/2026
Christopher Chip Adams, Troy Aikman, Jim Dove, Jim Eady, Bucky Gunts, Robert A. Iger, Charlie Jablonski, Robert Kraft, Tom Rinaldi, and Dick Stockton to be ho...
09/09/2026
ND2 returns as the primary unit, While FNIA gets SSQC and new flexible Rover...
09/09/2026
New parts aimed at hip-hop and pop productions
The latest update to Celemony's innovative virtual session musician expands the collection of built-in in...
09/09/2026
Save up to 40% until 21 September 2026
Sonarworks are currently running their Autumn Sale, with discounts of up to 40% currently available across their rang...
09/09/2026
Upcoming title officially launches in September 2026
Bjooks' celebrations for this year's 909 Day will be welcome news amongst drum machine lovers, ...
09/09/2026
NITV to bring First Nations netball to audiences nationwide
9 September, 2026
Media releases
Every match of the 2026 First Nations Tournament will be live ...
09/09/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) invites eligible Tier 1 and 2 South African production companies to submit proposals to serve as the Facilitating ...
09/09/2026
Italy launch follows UK and Germany as Nielsen expands product across EMEA
Milan, Italy, September 9, 2026 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, ...
09/09/2026
Planned solutions tackle accuracy, cost and latency barriers to deploying AI at ...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, introduces its new Model 791 Control Console at IBC 2026 (N...
09/09/2026
Maxon, maker of powerful, approachable software solutions for creators working in 2D and 3D design, motion graphics, visual effects and visualization, is headin...
09/09/2026
NUGEN Audio unveils DialogCheck v1.2, the latest evolution of its intelligent dialog intelligibility and compliance tool, at IBC 2026 (Pod P27). With a sharpene...
09/09/2026
Trusted Partner Network Launches Fix It or Risk It to Help the Entertainment Industry Tackle Everyday Security Risks
Industry-Wide Campaign Launches at IBC2...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
AI has moved firmly beyond experimentation in UK advertising, with more than eight in ten marketers (83%) now actively using or piloting AI in production, accor...
09/09/2026
IBC2026 - Stand 7.D22
At IBC2026, Pixitmedia by DataCore will showcase its latest capabilities designed to simplify distributed production, accelerate workflow...
09/09/2026
Stockholm, Sweden September 9th, 2026 At IBC2026, on booth 1.B47, Net Insight will showcase Open Live Media, its architecture for delivering resilient live ...
09/09/2026
Net Insight today announced that DMC Production Norway is continuing the use of its Open Live Media technology for premium European football, deploying Nimbra 5...
09/09/2026
Amagi, the media industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, will showcase four new AI-native capabilities at IBC2026, Hall 5, S...
09/09/2026
Limecraft today announces version 2026.6 of its AI-powered production platform, extending capabilities for connected media operations. An AI-assisted approach t...
09/09/2026
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, today announced the next evolution of its Practical AI strategy, evolving its comprehensive portfoli...
09/09/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the appointment of Brian Doheny as Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
09/09/2026
LiveU is now a Clarus Integrated Reseller, bringing Starlink's fast, reliable broadband directly into LiveU's cellular bonding EcoSystem through a singl...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Wisycom is showcasing the latest additions to its ecosystem of professional RF technologies at IBC 2026 (Stand 8.D60). This includes its new MATF Wideband Anten...
09/09/2026
AMSTERDAM, IBC2026 VisualOn, Inc. and Cires21 today released an updated joint whitepaper at IBC 2026 demonstrating measurable, high-impact improvements in visu...