GSF Accelerator, a platform for Indian startups, has come under fire for its upcoming founders-investors conference, which features an all-male panel of 40 speakers. The event, set to take place at Shangri-La Bengaluru tomorrow, sparked a heated debate on gender representation in the startup ecosystem after Edelweiss Asset Management’s Radhika Gupta called out their panel.
The controversy ignited 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.
Radhika Gupta, CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund, 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? #Manel."
Sorry to call this out, but at a time when women are doing much awesome stuff in start ups and in investing, when the government talks women led development … not one female face? #Manel https://t.co/vlYFAksbN9— Radhika Gupta (@iRadhikaGupta) July 24, 2024
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."
While 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."
Others took a more hostile tone, criticizing the push for diversity. "Why do you keep crying? Already women get loads of freebies everywhere. It's time that you lot earn something for yourselves rather than cry for more freebies," one commenter wrote.
Despite these dissenting voices, the backlash against GSF Accelerator continued to mount. Many users expressed disappointment and urged the organizers to rethink their approach. "Looks like now they have just given up even the hypocrisy of having a token name in their boy clubs," one comment read.
GSF Accelerator has yet to issue a formal statement in response to the uproar.
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