NEW YORK, June 21, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Today, The Female Quotient, in collaboration with Facebook, launched the Speaker Equity Assessor, a first-of-its-kind tool to increase diverse representation at conferences globally. Through data inputs, the tool analyzes a conference's speaker participants and provides high-level insights to help organizations select a more diverse slate of panelists who will better represent those watching and listening. When panels lack diversity, perspectives on the issues being discussed risk being too narrow and audiences miss potential outcomes or actions that might arise from broader representation. #SpeakerReady is the tool's call to action.
In a Harvard Business Review article, Ruchika Tulshyan, author of The Diversity Advantage, shared that 69% of global speakers are male, and begged the question: What will it take to improve diversity at conferences? This long-standing challenge has become even more relevant as racial inequity across institutions was brought to the forefront during the pandemic. With help from the Speaker Equity Assessor, organizations will have the ability to create more equitable programming, based less on big names, and more on experts with diverse experience and representation.
"When visible role models and spokespeople are predominantly male, the absence of diversity in leadership becomes normalized. Fewer women and people of color choose to speak, and it limits the quality and range of vital discussions. The Speaker Equity Assessor provides metrics that create accountability, changing the faces we will see both in person and on virtual stages," said Shelley Zalis, CEO of the Female Quotient.
The new Speaker Equity Assessor is not just a tool — it's a call to action for companies, conferences, and events to recognize the importance of passing the mic and showcasing diverse perspectives. To build a global culture of fairness and inclusivity, and help ensure that conferences are offering high quality insights based on a wide range of viewpoints, equal speaker representation is vital for all of us.
Facebook's mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. Through this collaboration with The Female Quotient, a female-owned business that shares this mission and is dedicated to advancing equality in the workplace, Facebook is working to promote greater diversity of thought through tools such as the Speaker Equity Assessor.
"Building an inclusive culture, one that creates and celebrates opportunities for different voices to be heard, is on each of us. That's why I'm incredibly excited that Facebook is collaborating with The Female Quotient on the new Speaker Equity Assessor," said Nicola Mendelsohn, Vice President for EMEA at Facebook. "This tool makes it easier for event organisers to showcase a diverse range of voices in their programming and will help make event line-ups far more interesting and insightful than ever before. I encourage everyone to use it."
The Speaker Equity Assessor is a secure tool that will provide private data intended for internal use only. Companies and organizations can use the tool for free for the first year by creating an account online.
For more information, visit thefemalequotient.speakerequityassessor.com or http://www.speakerequityassessor.com
The Female Quotient (The FQ) is a purpose-driven company that advocates for the global advancement of women's equality. It provides organizations and business leaders with the research, tools, and events to create equitable workplaces. The FQ Equality Lounge®️ brings diverse speakers to the global stage, including the World Economic Forum (Davos), SXSW, and Cannes Lions. For more information, visit: The Female Quotient
Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.
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SOURCE The Female Quotient
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