By Ryan Gray
Communities can define themselves by who they include or who they exclude. I’ll wager most groups who think of themselves as a community considers themselves as welcoming and inclusive. Many in the AV industry refer to us as a community; one that considers itself welcoming and inclusive. However, we must consider that we don’t really mean it. It’s an easy thing to think, an easy thing to say, but a hard thing to do.
The truth is: the AV industry is not a community that welcomes women.
It can be, it should be, but it just isn’t.
Until we accept that, it will not change.
Let me be clear that I’m not the example to follow. My history in the industry on this subject is filled with kind words but little action. Over the past few months, I have heard the stories of experiences of women in AV, and they are disturbingly similar. I wish I could say that I was a true ally and that I sought these out but that’s not how it started. My article last month on the founding of WAVIT led to some conversations and the sharing of real experiences that I simply cannot ignore. It is that dialogue that has changed my understanding that passive support is no longer acceptable. Kind words and good intentions with no action aren’t acceptable. I also want to acknowledge that while it’s the experience of women I’m discussing here, the same reality exists for many who are not heterosexual white males.
Kind words and good intentions with no action aren’t acceptable.
There are two manufacturers that I will never buy from again due to things I witnessed at ISE this year.
Representatives of those companies showed me that they don’t consider women welcome in the community of the AV industry. Through their words and actions, they showed that AV should be the domain of male power and toxic behavior. Well… I think the opposite is true, I think they should not be welcomed in this community. I understand the irony that just after saying passive support is no longer acceptable I’m not naming the companies. That is part of the structure that protects this behavior. The economic structures create conflicting incentives, and that reality has to be broken down. I want companies to worry whether their representatives are costing them business because of their behavior. While I won’t name them here, if you want to know, just ask me, and I’ll tell you.
At the Friday keynote panel at the HETMA conference last week we heard a clear message that showed a window into what it can be like to be a woman in the AV industry.
What was shared there is just a fraction of what will be shared in trusted confidence.
If you can, seek out the actual reality of what it can mean for women to try and build a career in our industry. If you can’t, hear what is shared in public and then imagine what isn’t being said. If I won’t say the name of those two companies here, imagine what secrets are being held behind closed doors.
I frequently hear discussions about how the solution to increasing the number of women in AV is building a pipeline to promote AV as a career to younger women.
Why would women want a pipeline into an industry where they will be marginalized, ignored, harassed and worse? Why would you want to spend your time and talent in that industry??
AV professionals are champions of mapping and understanding the user experience. Are you willing to do the same for the experience of women working in AV? There are so many who seem confused why they don’t get any female applicants for their open positions. Are we really willing to look in the mirror for the answer to that question?
If the AV industry is unwilling to say that we value women and professionals and guarantee their safety and dignity, it will bring a new chapter in the conversation of the “Death of AV”. I don’t mean by our words and well-meaning DEI programs but by changing the economic value structures to ensure that those who don’t aren’t welcome anymore.
It’s not about what we’re willing to say, it’s about what we’re willing to do.