Medical Education: Manels

How frequently do we see ‘manels’ (scientific panels made up exclusively from men) in the field of biomedical sciences? Considering that the gender distribution in entry and mid-level positions is about 50:50, it’s shocking to see that in 2020s, male-only or male-dominated line-ups are so widespread.

We looked at the speaker panels of the industry-sponsored satellite symposia at the ESMO 2024 congress, and the results were not encouraging:

💡 79% of panellists were men

💡 Two-thirds of symposia were chaired by men

💡 More than half of panels included only 1 woman, and 4 symposia did not have any women speakers at all (one of them, with 3 male speakers, was on the topic of endometrial cancer. We would call out the organisers, but, unfortunately, the flier did not contain the name of the company who sponsored the symposium)

Having male-only or male-dominated panels (as well as failing to include people from diverse ethnic backgrounds) affects the quality of your medical education. If you don’t seek diversity of opinion, your interpretation of clinical data is one-sided, and it doesn’t provide value to the audience.

🌟 Here’s a thought: we can all do better! Sponsor companies and agency suppliers can make an effort to make ESMO 2025 different. 🌟