This week I participated in a panel on the potential for synergy between finance, insurance, and healthcare organised by BaselArea Swiss. I really enjoyed discussing issues about what is needed to facilitate data-hungry research without jeopardising data anonymity/consent, or the role of psychology and behavioural economics in changing people’s behaviour and attitudes towards many issues, including data sharing. 

The panel was diverse in a number of ways: the panelists had different perspectives (e.g., industry, academia), backgrounds (e.g., finance, insurance, healthcare), and nationalities (e.g., CH, BE, DE, US, PT). Alas, it was a manel – an all male panel. 

I did feel a little uncomfortable about it then and feel even more so now that at least one person noticed and pointed this out on social media (hurray for public shaming!).

I do believe gender diversity is important and I’m letting the world know that I’ve taken “the pledge”  and I’m saying NO to manels.