Meeting the Curator of TED

Photo Credit: Tabby Biddle

This week, I met Chris Anderson, the president and curator of TED.

It was an exciting moment because, as many of you know, I have been working diligently this year to help more women become TED and TEDx speakers. So, to meet the "main guy" of this prestigious and brilliant platform, was a very cool opportunity.

I decided to not beat around the bush and ask him directly about TED's strategy to engage more women and bring the TED and TEDx stages to gender parity. (For those of you just tuning into this conversation, the last statistics out from TED about the percentage of women speakers on TED and TEDx stages came from TED producer, June Cohen, in 2013, when she acknowledged that women were fewer than 20 percent of the speakers.)

Chris told me that the numbers are getting better and are closer to 1/3rd women speakers now, and that some of the most popular TED talks are by women.

Okay, that's some improvement, but that doesn't settle the issue. We should be at 50/50. Last time I checked, women were 51 percent of the population. Last time I checked, women are earning 60 percent of the college degrees and graduate degrees. And yes, I would expect that some of the most popular TED talks are by women. We are 51 percent of the population, aren't we?

In further response to my question, Chris told me that he wrote his newly published book as a way to engage more women speakers. Okay, very cool. That's a good move.

But then he said something that made me cringe. He said that at TED they are always looking for the best speakers, and they don't just want to have "token" speakers. Helloooooo????

I honestly don't think he realized what a sexist remark that was. I wondered what others in the audience were thinking when he said this.

Unfortunately, I was in a Q & A session and there were no follow-up questions allowed, so I had to just breathe, appreciate all the good that the TED platform is doing in the world, and listen to the other questions and responses. (All while fuming a bit.)

After the Q & A session, my friend leaned over to me and said: "I couldn't believe he said that! That made me feel terrible." Another woman I spoke with later said she couldn't believe he said that either. She, a Black woman, said "token" is something she has been hearing her whole life. It was infuriating.

In order to find some semblance of composure, I found myself "making excuses" for Chris in my mind, like ... Oh, he's British. He grew up in Pakistan. He grew up in very patriarchal cultures. He likely had no idea how offensive that word "token" is to us as women. But here he is, the president and curator of TED, an organization built on the motto of "ideas worth spreading," and he was referring to the idea of having 50/50 gender parity on TED stages as something that would require women as "token speakers." So, I was reminded once again how powerful unconscious bias is, even in the minds and hearts of those we admire and respect, and how important it is for us, as women, to keep speaking up and speaking out.

As part of my activism, I realize that it is my responsibility to write a letter to Chris to let him know how hurtful the use of that word "token" is when referring to women speakers and leaders, and that it is completely inappropriate and inaccurate.

Along with this, I would like to propose an open, honest, frank conversation about sexism and unconscious bias among leaders of all genders at TED, to create more understanding so that we can move together to gender parity and equality sooner than later. So, I will do that. If I want change, I need to take action.

My question to you this week is this: Where have you been silencing your voice? In your home? In your workplace? In your community? With your family? Grab your pen right now and take 1 minute to write down your answer.

From there, my challenge to you this week is this: Take one action step to un-silence yourself. This might be speaking up in a meeting at work where you typically are silent. Or, speaking to your spouse about an issue in the home where you see gender inequality. Or, speaking out in your community about an issue you care about deeply. Or, something else. What is it for you? Grab your pen right now and take 10 seconds to write down your action step.

I will write my letter to Chris this week. What will you do?

If you'd like some accountability, share your responses below.

Tabby Biddle, M.S.Ed., is a leading voice and advocate for advancing women’s leadership and the human rights of women and girls. She is the author of the bestselling book, Find Your Voice: A Woman’s Call to Action. Watch her recent TEDx talk on Activating Women’s Leadership.