Sushmina Baidya was all excited to attend a panel discussion about increasing youth's participation in building the political scenario. With hopeful eyes, Baidya who is a social activist was expecting to see the forum filled with participation from various groups of people voicing their diverse opinions. Unfortunately, she had to face disappointment as all of the speakers were male. A believer in equality, Baidya was hoping to witness female participation as more women are taking an interest in politics now than before. But seeing an all-male-panel disheartened her. Panel discussions have always been a hub for male speakers. There have been instances where only men have been invited to speak on issues related to women! Most organisers of panel discussions and conferences seem to not consider that women, sexual minorities and persons with disability also have opinions which could be instrumental in arriving at conclusions or solutions during a discussion. They act as if it is a hairsplitting task to look out for a diverse range of panellists, which makes the discussions one-dimensional. Manels (all-male panels) has become a global issue. The discussions are always centred on male speakers, who have similar backgrounds and who echo similar ideologies, due to which learnings from the discussions become homogenous. According to an academic study conducted by TED talks, male speakers outnumber female speakers by a ratio of 3:1. Similarly, Bizzabo, an event software company -- which surveyed 60,000 speakers in events conducted in 23 countries over a period of five years -- found out that 69 per cent of the speakers were male. In recent times, normalisation of manels has called for criticism in the global sphere as people are demanding for inclusive panels that give an equal space to women, sexual minorities and people with disability. This has led many organisations to adopt a no-manel policy or even boycott manels. Supporters argue that if panel discussions are inclusive, diverse opinions and perspectives will come into the discourse. Gender and social privileges play an important role in the formulation of ideologies and experiences. Experience of a male guest may vary with that of a female guest or a guest belonging to marginalised groups. And it is a known fact that different experiences yield different opinions. Diverse the opinions, more inclusive a discussion will be. 'An inclusive panel is an effective panel. Panel discussions can be boring if you don’t have an inclusive panel,' says Nisha Onta, a gender expert. Onta, who believes that an inclusive panel is a basis of getting diverse perspectives and arguments around, also points out that it is significant for the audience to know that their voices are being heard. Explaining that only one group of people cannot deconstruct social and political issues, Onta calls for the participation of diverse groups in various discussion-related decision-making process. Though slowly event organisers are realising the importance of having an inclusive panel, there is still a long way to go. To ensure that events and panel discussions around the country are inclusive, SAATHI Nepal, an NGO recently launched 'Say No to All-Male Panel' campaign that aims to promote an inclusive panel. Many influential personalities extended their support in favour of inclusive panels though their signatures. Speaking to THT, Santosh Pokharel, Programme Coordinator of SAATHI shared that the intention of the campaign was to make people aware and disseminate the message that public platforms, as of now, have less female participation and panels should be made more inclusive to project women's say in issues related to public concern. But many experts believe that compelling the organisers to compulsorily have an inclusive panel is not a long-term solution for equal participation and argue that competence of a speaker should be the first and only priority. 'There are bigger issues that should be addressed like capacity and capability building of people to have equal representation,' says Shailendra Sigdel, a development expert. Sigdel also said that people should leave their hogwash attitude behind and also judge a panel by looking at the quality of the panellist. Meanwhile, Nepali Feminist Official, a social media handle that has been recently working to aware the netizens about the importance of feminism, completely rejects the hypothesis that competence and inclusivity are two different ends. In an email interview, the manager of the handle said that inclusivity and competence go hand in hand. 'The 'upper caste' and wealthy men -- who hardly face barriers based on caste, class, and gender -- mostly dominate the panels. However, an individual having worked enough to gain insight but in lack of opportunities to flourish socially or create a big name for themselves are competent too,' shared the manager of Nepali Feminist. Arguing that inclusiveness isn’t about tokenism, the manager of the handle expressed that inclusiveness will always support competence and create an environment where people -- who due to lack of privilege in certain fields have not been able to flourish as much despite having good qualifications -- will also receive a platform to share their ideas.

Debating a woman’s choice with ONE woman on the panel #EveryDaySexism #CasualSexism #Manel pic.twitter.com/JTpbVHsAJK

— Tarini Kumar (@tarini28) July 1, 2019 Pujan KC, a student and a feminist, points out rigid gender roles as the major cause which hampers equal participation and inclusion in various sector of lives. 'Some of the girls who get married after the completion of their education are forced to stay inside their houses because of fixed gender roles. This hampers their career growth and also leads to men getting opportunities like being part of discussions.' Denouncing the individuals who believe that necessity for inclusion may compromise the quality, KC says that inclusion doesn't necessarily mean putting a random woman in the dais (platform) but moreover giving opportunities to deserving women candidates. Similarly, an inclusive panel will have a demonstration effect (behaviour effect caused by the observation of actions and events) and motivate marginalised voices and individuals who are watching the discussions. They will find relatable role models that will boost their self-efficacy, making them believe that they can also get the same opportunities. So what can be done to make the panel discussions inclusive? Networking, networking and networking. Building one's network among the diverse groups of people can help the organisers and even individuals connect with people coming from various groups and having different ideologies. The organisers now need to stop giving outdated excuses that they were unable to find a woman, member of a marginalised community, sexual minority, or individuals with disability having an expertise in a certain field related to the panel discussion. There are various social sites including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn that help connect with experts from distinct socio-economic backgrounds. Aayam Phuyal, a law student from National Law College believes that more women and minority groups should involve themselves in organising events and panel discussions. Phuyal also shared that the compulsion to include a female or a marginalised speaker was not a long term solution for equal participation and is of the opinion that larger problems that act as a shield against equal participation should be addressed. It is high time for diverse people to get a platform where they can share their views. A panel which isn't inclusive will have narrow perspective and less new ideas. The dais (platform) should not only be limited to dais (meaning brothers in Nepali). It should also welcome didis and bahinis (both meaning sisters in Nepali), sexual minorities, and individuals with disabilities so that they too can get an equal platform to share their expertise. 'The voices of women and marginalised communities are yet to be explored. Ensuring equal representation and giving platforms will help to create a society where every voice is heard,' shared Baidya. Like how Simone de Beauvoir said, 'Representation of the world, like the world itself, is the work of men; they describe it from their own point of view, which they confuse with absolute truth.' There is no shortage of deserving candidates of various genders, sexualities and ethnic groups. Let us give them an equal platform to voice out their opinions so as to have equal representation.