A younger colleague said ‘OK, Boomer’ to me. What am I doing wrong?

It is hard to believe any event organiser doesn’t immediately recognise when something is a “manel” (an all-male event or panel) which you can find being called out on social media most days of the week.

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If you are reading this and have anything to do with organising events, anything at all – a tip for free – do not do this. Do not have a line-up of speakers that all look and sound the same. No one wants to hear from effectively the same speaker all day long and particularly a speaker who may not have lived experience of the subject area. People with diverse viewpoints, diverse ethnicities, diverse genders and diverse disabilities are the people we want to learn from. The sad reality is that this event, which is no doubt well-intentioned, is going to lead to a large proportion of employees feeling excluded, making the whole event counterproductive.

You might want to consider speaking to the organisers and hopefully you won’t be the first to bring this issue to their attention. Have a think about women or people of colour you might recommend they invite to speak, or even offer to speak yourself!

Send your questions about work, careers and leadership to [email protected]. Your name and any identifying information will not be used. Letters may be edited.

Dr Kirstin Ferguson is an award-winning leader, executive coach, writer and public speaker. She is a former deputy chair of the ABC and sits on a range of corporate boards. You can connect with Kirstin at kirstinferguson.com.

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