I have to say that it’s always going to be very tricky for any convention organiser to achieve gender parity on convention panels while the industry as a whole remains incredibly skewed towards male creators. That’s not to say that I don’t admire the principle of male creators stepping off panels to make room for female creators though. I’d just say that convention organisers are going to find it tricky until the industry as a whole changes.

For our part, without even particularly thinking about it or trying…beyond my own desire to encourage more women to enter the industry…Orang Utan Comics does generally achieve gender parity at our convention tables and booths. This weekend we had four creators at our booth, two male and two female, and that is often the case. I will, however, in future be encouraging our female creators to take part when we do panels. It’s time to step up, ladies, and represent!