Why did you start investigating this issue?
A postdoctoral fellow in my lab pointed out that the preliminary speaker list for an international neuroimmunology conference included only 13 female speakers out of 93 total. I contacted the conference organizers, and they responded that there weren’t enough accomplished female neuroscientists at senior ranks to invite. So I thought, “That’s a hypothesis that I can test.”
Read on, to find out how she indeed did test this hypothesis, and to find what seems to make a difference.
Feminist Philosophers 
“Naming the problem is the first step in solving it.” Excellent!
I have a somewhat unrelated question….at my university, the science programs ALWAYS include a photo of the speaker on their posters. I’m in a building where the vast majority are White or Asian men. I find this annoying (I have to stand in the elevator every day with these faces on the walls). I’m wondering if there is any research on implicit bias or stereotype threat that would directly speak to whether this, i.e., putting photos on posters, is a good (inclusive) idea. I would love to send an article on it to the department head. Any suggestions?