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| (One of my favorite discussions was "Contemporary Art Excludes the 99%" - Listen in Soundcloud) |
I'm a huge fan of Intelligence Squared debates. At work sometimes I listen to them on Soundcloud and they help keep me motivated - and during dull times entertained. And as I listen and listen to many podcasts, I couldn't really help but notice a trend: in a panel of four, three are men and one is a woman; especially in the debates held in America.
Now, I don't advocate for an all-female discussion. And I don't doubt these men and their expertise. However, I thought that perhaps there should be a bit more diversity in the debates. Especially since the topics they discuss are so fascinating, that they can only be so much better if a group of people from all walks of life are involved in the discussion. Of course, some will argue that debates really don't solve any social problems. But I would disagree, mostly because I think just talking about a social problem is a step in the right direction. This gets people involved, aware of the types of discussions happening, and perhaps they can choose to search for more information. There have been some times when I have gone into the debate with one opinion, and come out with a different. That happens, and I think that's the entire point of the debates. That's why I was a bit discouraged to see the line-up. The upcoming debates in the US (see here) involves the following statistics:
- 95% of the speakers are white
- 20% of the speakers are female
- 5% of the speakers are of color
Of the twenty people speaking in the American line-up, only three women will be joining. And then on top of that, there is only one person (a woman) of "color". Of course I don't presume to know the backgrounds of all the speakers, but I must say that 95% of them put "Caucasian" in surveys (government and non). The topics being debated are so wide, that it is impossible to imagine that the only people with knowledge on the subject are white men. These are the topics:
- Liberals are stifling intellectual diversity on campus
- The U.S. should adopt the "right to be forgotten" online
- The president has exceeded his constitutional authority by waging war without congressional authorization
- Abolish the death penalty
- Smart technology is making us dumb
I was a bit disappointed, obviously. And I didn't quite find that many people commenting on it online. Which is why I decided to write this post. I still plan on listening to these discussions, because the content and the information is good and well formulated. I would simply like to imagine that eventually we will start allowing all people to enter the discussion.