Rise Women in Broadcast, the global advocacy group for gender diversity in the broadcast media technology sector, has announced the launch of Panel+ at IBC2025.

Panel+ is a new initiative designed to encourage greater balance and inclusion on industry panels, helping organizers, speakers, and participants ensure that women’s voices are represented in key conversations.

At its heart, Panel+ has three aims:

• Encourage gender balance – every panel is stronger when it includes a mix of perspectives.
• Create advocacy – supporters are invited to take the Panel+ Pledge, showing their support by encouraging the inclusion of women when invited to panels.
• Connect organizers to speakers – Rise is building a speaker pool of women experts across broadcast, media, and technology, making it easier for organizers to find diverse voices.

“Panel+ is about encouragement, not criticism,” Sadie Groom, Founder and CEO of Rise. “We know how powerful panels can be in shaping the conversation, and we want to make it as easy as possible for organizers and speakers to include women’s voices. When panels bring together a wider range of perspectives, the conversations are better, the debates are richer, and the audience is more engaged. It also builds greater credibility, showing a real commitment to diversity and inclusion.”

Panel+ also recognizes the unseen barriers that prevent many women from attending or speaking at events. Whether it’s a male boss taking the speaking slot, or family responsibilities like childcare, women are often left out of the conversation before it even begins. That’s why Rise is calling on event organizers to take practical steps such as giving more notice, offering expense support, and broadening their search criteria beyond just C-suite titles to ensure a wider pool of women can take part.

“At MPTS, diversity isn’t a box to tick – it’s the foundation of meaningful conversation,” Charlotte Wheeler, Director, Media Production & Technology Show. “Our seminar program brings together a broad spectrum of voices, perspectives, and experiences, ensuring that every discussion reflects the richness of our industry and the audiences we serve.”

Organizers are also encouraged to think beyond tokenism: true inclusion means more than just adding a woman as a moderator. Panel+ is here to help organizers build balanced, representative, and meaningful discussions.

“As both a producer and speaker, I know different perspectives are essential for panel discussions, and that for the audience they represent the voices of the industry,” says Rich Welsh, President – SMPTE. “It’s paramount that many diverse voices are represented, and that we are conveying a positive message of inclusivity with the people represented on our stages. That’s why I’m proud to take the Panel+ pledge.”