No ‘manels’, more gender equality in Indonesia: a UN Resident Coordinator blog
Panel discussions exclusively made up of men, or ‘manels’ need to stop, says Valerie Julliand, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Indonesia. Ms. Julliand has taken steps to promote gender parity by pledging that the UN will only participate in panels which include women’s voices.
Valerie Julliand, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Indonesia., by UN Indonesia
“You’ve seen it before. Probably many times. Panel discussions featuring men only. Maybe they’re talking about economics or policy or community engagement or health. The panellists may be experts in their fields, but the panels are missing something. Women.
These all-male panels — called ‘manels’ — should stop. The UN Team in Indonesia has taken a firm pledge to not participate as a speaker/panel member in any public meetings, conferences, or webinars where there are no women on the panel. We’ve also disseminated our ‘no-manel’ pledge widely across social media and have invited our partners and the diplomatic community in country to join us in this pledge. All of this has taken place with the support of the UN Women Representative in Indonesia, Jamshed Kazi.
Being a woman Resident Coordinator, I have often been the only woman on a panel, therefore “saving” the organizers from having a ‘manel’ but not really living up to the spirit of equality. On such occasions, I used my remarks to signal the absence of women other than myself.
Tunnel vision
There are many reasons to end the practice of ‘manels’; I’ll mention just a few. ‘Manels’ do not represent the diversity of our world and deprive us of a more holistic, innovative, and insightful perspective on any given discussion or topic.
