Comments on: On Booth Babes, CES, and Why This Female Tech Journo Thinks We Deserve A Better Apology

By: David

David — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 10:23:11 +0000

Well Taylor, I’ve just come back from a show in Nuremburg and, like a housand other shows that will take place this year around the world, there were some ‘booth babes’ in smiling action there too. Why are you making such a big thing out of this? Companies pay thousands of dollars for a few square feet of space and need to generate sales leads from every passing potential customer to justify the expense. The electronics industry is male dominated – fact. Pretty girls catch men’s eyes – fact. QED. I can assure you that, with the exception of a very few old sexists, a woman walking around the show in ‘non-babe’ business clothing will be treated as a peer and not compared with the promotion girls who are just doing their job, so you are not being disrespected or degraded in any way by being one of the few women in the industry. Maybe the ‘babes’ just need better training? Accept them for what they are and what they do. IMHO Shapiro in the BBC slot just stated the facts as they are.

By: bookmarks, issue 4 | my name is not matt

bookmarks, issue 4 | my name is not matt — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:31:55 +0000

[...] On Booth Babes, CES, and Why This Female Tech Journo Thinks We Deserve a Better Apology — Taylor [...]

By: Sophia

Sophia — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:48:44 +0000

“I don’t know any women who would chose that world so say over….shopping. Or cooking. Or taking care of kids.”

That booth babe just looking into my soul and sang my hopes and dreams back to me. It was good.

By: B$

B$ — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:06:30 +0000

I smell a new column on AS: Taylor’s Teachable Moments with Tech Leaders

well done!

Should we send him some AS swag so he can really feel the team spirit (who’s with me!) ?

By: Joanna Stern

Joanna Stern — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:22:00 +0000

Well done, Taylor. Well done.

By: Jenni

Jenni — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:57:59 +0000

Mr Shapiro-
If we are all on the same page, then I am formally requesting that you use your power as CEA president and CEO to ban the use of “booth babes” at CES and all CEA events from this point forward. If you are honestly committed to equality and respect of all sexes, races, sexual orientations, then use your power to stop vendors from creating this inappropriate, sexist and immature environment in the first place. Women represent 51% of the American population (missrepresentation.org). As a woman and as a former CES manufacturer rep attendee, I was nothing but disgusted with the booth babe attire, attitude, and overall sexist environment of the show. How can I be taken seriously while some woman 4 ft away from me is gyrating in a sequin thong? It is completely unprofessional and insulting to me as a woman, and for a show with this much excitement and anticipation for its products, sexism does not belong here. I debated this issue with a male friend who stated that “i shouldnt go if booth babes make me uncomfortable” and that “he had a right to see booth babes at trade shows”. After several deep breathing exercises, i began to wonder- so this is who CES is for?? The sexist, arrogant, all-important guy who can’t work without being motivated by boobs? This is the type of client that supports booth babes Mr Shapiro. I, on the other hand, feel I am the perfect client- why? I love technology. I still love CES- I love the tvs, cameras, tvs, cars, games, tvs, and more tvs. I seem to be able to function all year without using a bikini to influence my sales. And the majority of your male audience agrees- they don’t come to CES for booth babes. So stop making reps like myself endure insult and embarassment because of this 1940′s attitude that has taken over CES. Women will continue to enter tech, whether it is completely welcoming or whether it is hostile and discriminatory. The real concern should be this – you have the power to create change which will encourage, inspire, and motivate 51% of the population to not only consider CE a career choice, but also to foster interest in purchasing CE products. Will you do it?
-Jenni

By: Bhan

Bhan — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:45:23 +0000

I really hate that. My grandmother does it because she thinks men understand technology better and so you get a better service. This despite the fact that most of the women in her family are scientists of some kind.

By: Arls

Arls — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:19:16 +0000

Mr. Shapiro,

Thank you for asking for feedback. Here are my recommendations:

1. Before anything else I’d suggest you check your privilege. Here’s an easily accessible starting place http://bit.ly/gQtI

Being an ally does not mean your opinion / experience with a friend trumps our experience or that you get a pass when you misstep.

2. Put actual feedback before your opinion of what the feedback should be.

Whatever the reason – being tired, getting caught off-message, being frustrated – you stepped in it. You got immediate feedback about your BBC interview that you clearly disliked.

Rather than addressing the specific issues, your response to Matt Honan was that the booths at your show are out of your influence (except when they’re not), you support women by keeping adult video away from them, you have women on your senior staff, lots of women have applauded at least something you’ve said, and your wife is a surgeon.

Apparently you missed the issues entirely. If I was on your staff, these are the statements I’d highlight from Taylor’s article:

* “But Shapiro’s caustically casual dismissal of the booth babe issue altogether makes me feel like I’m treading water in a pool of sharks. Why bother looking at gender politics in a historically (and currently) male-dominated field? How cute of you to bring it up at all!”

* “[His] comments don’t count at all due to some convoluted mixture of his being married to a female surgeon (which smacks of the “some of my best friends are black” line of reasoning) and the BBC interview having been near the tail-end of ” three straight hours of media interviews.” After all, aren’t we all a little racist/sexist/homophobic or just plain vile when we’re tired?”

I’d flag this one:

* “It’s not like as the president of the whole shebang you’re uniquely positioned to have any pull in this matter, anyhow.”

3. Listen to understand.

It’s great that you are working against SOPA and PIPA. It’s also great that you’re an ally to the LGBTQ community. Unfortunately it’s irrelevant to this feedback. This isn’t about what a neat guy you are, it’s about criticisms of your responses.

Very smart women (Taylor here, Violet Blue) have provided nuanced feedback. Rather than trying to make this about you as a person, keep it about the issues in the feedback.

4. Act.

Your response to the feedback is in what you do, not in your self-esteem.

The initial BBC interview, the response to Matt Honan, and the passivity here all indicate that – despite your self-defense to the contrary – you don’t get it. Rather than continue to insist you not only get it but have it on lock, open up to the feedback and give some indication that you understand the concerns.

By: taylor

taylor — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:29:54 +0000

would be interested to hear more about your experiences!

By: taylor

taylor — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:32:10 +0000

Of ALL the booths, I was 100% completely ignored at the Soul booth by a booth babe preoccupied making small talk to two guys in suits.

I literally was the only other one hovering around and she was the only rep I could find. I tried to speak to her multiple times to get a press kit, and I was standing right in front of her…she wouldn’t even look me in the eye. It was really, really weird.

I don’t care if they were investors or whatever else, handing someone your press kit doesn’t take 15 seconds.

By: Simon

Simon — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:12:19 +0000

Interestingly, the whole booth babe tactic has a Howard Stern quality to it, in that those who dislike the practice are often the ones who are most influenced by it. Meaning – everyone notices the “babes” whether you are male or female or for or against it, and that’s why the practice continues.
In a trade show where small companies are trying to fight for attention with the likes of Sony, Samsung and Panasonic, there are few ways as sure-fire to draw people in as a beautiful woman in a revealing outfit.
Not that it can’t backfire. I refused to speak to the folks at the Soul booth precisely because their babes outnumbered the company reps by a ridiculous ratio and it was clear to me that they were compensating for er, something.

By: Bhan

Bhan — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:58:36 +0000

Hi,

Personally, as a woman with an interest in technology I would like it if you fostered an enviroment where I and my friends felt comfortable. You’re in charge of the enviroment and so you can set the tone. Its not that I object to booth babes so much as that they tend to be hired for looks alone and come out with comments like the quotes in the article, and that women customers tend to be ignored and treated as if they have wandered in by mistake. I would like it if you hired “booth babes” who were also trained in the field, or demonstrated a working knowledge (many attractive women who are also have degrees in various tech subjects or who are at least really into tech and know a lot about it would be willing to work as booth babes, especially in this economy – if you were to have an event in Scotland I could point you towards dozens of them) and also if you hired some male booth babes too (not even equal numbers but just some), because that would help to equalise the enviroment by acknowledging that gay men and straight/bi women are potential customers too. Rike’s company above already provides this.

I think its awesome that you came on here to engage with us by the way.