Forward steps, lingering gaps: gender representation among distinguished speakers at professional conferences

Plenary speakers serve as role models for early-career scholars, and these talks advance the speakers' careers while celebrating the important scientific contributions of women. Professional conferences are an ideal venue for assessing progress toward equity goals across disciplines. We examined gender disparities among distinguished speakers at North American ecology conferences from 2000 to 2023. We found that women's representation as speakers has increased, especially in the past decade, but they remain underrepresented relative to their proportion among graduate students. Disparities persist across institutions, disciplines, and career stages, particularly for women in later career stages. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic did not notably affect women's representation, and nonbinary genders remain minimally represented, underscoring ongoing challenges in achieving inclusive representation. Although the gender gap has not yet closed, this emerging positive trend for women speakers at professional ecology conferences is encouraging.