When I was in Vegas a couple weeks ago for the NAB Show, I went to the Hofbrauhaus, the traditionally crazy German restaurant based on the beer hall of the same name in Munich.

The south lower hall at the convention center had more sausage than this place.

And that’s my crude and unladylike way of asking: where all the women at?

Video post-production has been male-dominated for a long time. I don’t need to be reminded of the big time Hollywood editors that have made their mark on the industry: Sally Menke, Thelma Schoonmaker, plenty of ladies in television doing great stuff. Or that there are a lot more women coming about now than there have been in the last few decades. I also don’t need to be reminded that editing started with women. None of us do. It’s common knowledge. They’re out there, working and being really good and probably being better than you.

So where ARE all of these women hiding at NAB? I spent a day walking around the lower south hall. The ONLY time a female spoke to me was to scan my badge. If I had questions, I talked to a guy. I didn’t participate in Post Production World this year, but I glanced at their speaker list: three ladies, two of which talked about social media and producing/directing. Christine Steele is the only one on the roster actually talking about post production. Really?

I spent another couple days working in a booth. I remember seeing a few women workers, but they were mostly around for the performance side of things. Or to scan badges and collect forms. Hell, even IN the booth, I talked to very few women.

But I’m going to be honest here and say that part of me sees the distinct abundance of Y chromosomes on the show floor, while the other part of me says “yeah, so?” Big deal, right? We’re all equal, so if there’s mostly guys, that’s just the way it shook out and maybe there will be more girls next year. No reason to force it if there’s just no girls available, to work at NAB or to send from your company to attend.

But then I go back to the part of me swimming in dudes, and I wonder if I should be asking “why” a little louder. I doubt intentional malice here. I don’t think most guys are overtly sexist about including knowledgable women on their NAB teams, and I REALLY don’t think the organizers of Post Production World are smoking in a back room, laughing maniacally over their old boy’s club, plotting on how they can get rid of Christine once and for all. I can’t speak for employers choosing to send male employees to NAB over women because I can totally see that happening, though I hope it doesn’t…much.

I just wonder if I should be asking “why” a little louder in case nobody really thought about it.

Correct me if I’m wrong (really), but I’ve heard the NAB Show of maybe 10+ years ago described as a very male-dominated and bigwig-only type experience. Decision-makers were the most plentiful attendees, so lower ranked employees weren’t around so much and certainly weren’t so included in anything of importance. And most decision-makers were guys because that’s just how the industry is or was then. That’s how a lot of industries are, in fact, so it’s not like I’m accusing the video industry of being some crazy backwards place. There have been several gigantic companies only recently naming their first female CEO. So you know, whatevs. But what if the lack of gals on the show floor is just a remnant of that time? Just invite back the same people, send the guys because they’ll get more out of it, do the usual thing we do every year, just go about our business as we always have.

Or you could try some fresh meat, you guys. Not just women, but in general. If the best choice for your business is to bring an 18-35 year old white male to man your booth or teach your class or represent your company, then I’m not going to argue with you or say you’re a male chauvinist pig and burn my bra in protest. I’m just asking: why?

Have you thought about it?