If you have been addressed by a professional after dinner speaker, then the chances are that the speaker was a man. You might not have thought much of it during the speech, but actually most professional after dinner speakers are men. It’s true: at all the speakers’ agencies in the UK, the roster of after dinner speakers dealing with business or politics are likely to be men.
In a society where gender equality and political correctness is at the very centre of employers’ mindsets, it is interesting to try and figure out why after dinner speakers should be overwhelmingly male when every other area of industry is becoming more and more gender equal. Many people firmly back the argument that the industries from which many after dinner speakers are sourced are sexist, or at least male dominated and not the speaking business itself. This does make sense: most after dinner speakers previously worked in politics, business or sport. All of these industries are traditionally dominated by men. It’s also true that the people after dinner speakers address are likely to be mostly men. For example, the business speaker will mostly work at business conferences which are attended by more men than women, although women are increasingly moving into the business sphere.
However, the after dinner speakers offered by leading speakers’ agencies are starting to change. There are more and more female speakers. Female after dinner speakers are increasingly being given the respect and recognition they deserve and are getting more work. But still there are claims of a very significant gender pay gap in the speaking business. Even in the glossy world of after dinner speaking, equality is a long way off.
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