Another all-male panel, really? – Aliah Ali

We need to talk about all-male panels because I cannot handle seeing another invitation to a public forum where the panelists are all men.

I used to enjoy attending discussions on various topics on current affairs, until I realised that almost all panels consisted of only men. The last straw for me was when I saw an invitation to a panel on marriage in Islam, with only two men on the panel!

An all-male panel is self-explanatory; it is a panel which comprises only men.

If you have not yet seen the Tumblr page dedicated to all-male panels, I strongly urge you to have a look. It is the page that inspired me to go on this crusade against all-male panels.

As funny as the Tumblr page is, all-male panels are a common sight in Malaysia. This is not just among conservative groups who believe that a woman’s rightful place is at home, but groups who claim to be liberal and progressive are equally guilty of having only men on their panels.

Even our Cabinet line-up might as well be an all-male panel. Out of 37 Cabinet members, only three are women! Are there really not enough qualified women out there to sit on panels?

Women only get a seat on the table once a year, and that is during International Women’s Day where participants are usually all female. It is as if women only have the capacity to speak on issues related to women’s rights in the presence of only women.

So, what’s the deal with all-male panels and why is it a bad thing?

All-male panels are problematic because it is one of the manifestations of patriarchy, which works on the assumption that men have the authority to speak on behalf of other groups.

Of course, this is untrue as the experiences of a man is entirely different than that of a woman or any other group who do not get the privileges typically accorded to men. This truth also applies to the different life experiences between women of different classes with different opportunities. The experiences and challenges faced by a working class woman are entirely different than that experienced by a middle class woman.

The prevalence of all-male panels also reinforces the reality that men are given more opportunities to certain certain jobs, certain high-level positions, more opportunity to voice out opinions on important issues, and ultimately more opportunity to strengthen their status on society. It is really a chain of privilege begets more privilege.

Most importantly, having all-male panels represents the complete erasure of women from public life. It completely overlooks the important contribution women make in academia, public discourse and important events in history.

A good example is the complete erasure of the important role played by women on the road to Malaysia’s independence, such as Angkatan Wanita Sedar (Awas) who were instrumental in protests against the British.

We need to start including women on panels, because as long as we continue having only all-male panels, law and policies will continue to be biased in favour of men.

So long as we continue having all-male panels, our society will not reach its full potential, because the opinions, experiences and genius of women who make up half the population go unnoticed.

How can we even begin to practise diversity and intersectionality if we are unable to notice and rectify the problem of all-male panels?

When we talk about inclusion of women, we are not talking about merely women as tokens. It is not enough for groups to point to the one woman they have on a panel of six speakers.

The struggle to have more women on panels also depends on the action of men who implicitly condone the perpetuation of all-male panels, by agreeing to speak on all-male panels. Men, your involvement in creating a more diverse panel is important!

We are all aware of the fact that Malaysia has ratified the Convention of Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Unfortunately, we are also aware of the fact that gender equality is still far from reality. One way we can start is by including more women on panels, because really there are plenty of qualified women in all forms of fields.

Fact is, if you have an all-male panel, it simply means that you are not putting in the effort to include women on your panel. – February 16, 2016.

* Aliah Ali reads The Malaysian Insider.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.