I have complained a number of times about the lack of gender (and ethnic) diversity on conference speaking rosters [DMA, Mesh]. Well, imagine my delight when I saw the roster for the upcoming Media in Canada Forum. Now, there is still a ways to go on ethnic diversity, but scrolling down this page, I thought, "Hey, this looks like a conference where I could get a great variety of experience and perspective." Some experienced and passionate women like Jillian McLaughlin from Unilever, Judy John from Leo Burnett, and Lauren Richards from Starcom Mediavest Group. There are a number of women speaking and on panels. If you're in Toronto on Oct 3, I urge you to check it out!
Now, I know that everyone is tired of thinking about gender and ethnic diversity. We think "It's 2006 .. haven't we dealt with this? Aren't the genders equal? Isn't there equal representation? Men don't dominate; women have equal opportunity. You're crazy!" OK. Maybe. But then, I see rosters like the one for The Future of Web Apps, and I know that there is still a long ways to go.
