Barcelona
At the Mobile World Congress, a huge telecoms trade show in Barcelona, you can see just about any phone currently made, as well as senior execs from across the industry. A much rarer sight at the expo this week, however, is women. Of the 41 bigwigs listed as keynote speakers, for example, only 12 are women.
Join 500,000+ readers who start their day with Quartz.
By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Trade shows like this tend to be front-loaded, with the biggest announcements scheduled early in the week. At the Mobile World Congress, half of the women appearing at keynote sessions during the week were on a single panel on the final day of the fair—which happened to be on women in technology.
Russell Reynolds, a headhunting firm, estimates that only 12% of execs at telecoms companies are women. In that light, a keynote lineup with 30% women is, surprisingly, ahead of the curve.
