Radhika Gupta’s tweet all-male panel of 40 speakers at Bengaluru startup sparks row
Radhika Gupta’s tweet all-male panel of 40 speakers at Bengaluru startup sparks row
Radhika Gupta, CEO, Edelweiss Mutual Fund, over a tweet brings to light that the GSF Accelerator Startup conference at Shangri-La, Bengaluru featured only an all-male panel of 40 speakers and there wasn’t any single female.
Her tweet echoed with many, attracting a flood of comments voicing frustration over the lack of female representation in the startup panel.
This has attracted a heated debate on gender representation in the startup ecosystem following Radhika Gupta called out their panel.
The controversy blew-up after GSF Accelerator tweeted a promotional image of the panelists, announcing, “150 Rockstars of The Startup Ecosystem. 75 investors (Stock Market Maestros, VCs, Seed funds, and angels) + 75 founders (From Seed to IPO) are the audience for 40 esteemed speakers/Presenters.” The image showed 40 men and not a single woman, drawing immediate criticism from various quarters.
Reportedly, Radhika Gupta, CEO was among the first to voice her disappointment. She tweeted, “Sorry to call this out, but at a time when women are doing much awesome stuff in startups and in investing, when the government talks women-led development… not one female face?
One user remarked, “It’s 2024 and you guys still living under a rock, the organisers, sponsors, and panelists should be ashamed. There are dozens of amazing women leaders that even I know in India and you can’t find one?”
Another user echoed the sentiment, stating, “Wow, 40 people and not one female! Where are the women? I guess we have enough female investors/founders to be called at least for the sake of formality? Shame.”
Though the majority of comments supported Gupta’s stance, some argued against the necessity of gender considerations in selecting panelists. A user questioned, “Should gender be a consideration? What’s the ratio of men to women at oil rigs performing underwater welding? Please call that out too.”
News Edit K.V.Raman
