PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Kethaki Prathivadi Bhayankaram AU - Nuthana Prathivadi Bhayankaram TI - Conference panels: do they reflect the diversity of the NHS workforce? AID - 10.1136/leader-2020-000361 DP - 2021 Mar 02 TA - BMJ Leader PG - leader-2020-000361 4099 - http://bmjleader.bmj.com/content/early/2021/03/02/leader-2020-000361.short 4100 - http://bmjleader.bmj.com/content/early/2021/03/02/leader-2020-000361.full AB - Background The number of female and black, Asian and minor ethnicity (BAME) healthcare professionals has significantly increased over the last few decades. While this highlights the National Health Service (NHS) workforce as diverse and inclusive, most senior managers and conference panellists remain mainly men from Caucasian backgrounds.Methods We reviewed all publicly available data for major Royal College conferences in the UK from 2015 to 2019 to examine how many of the panellists were men or women and how many were Caucasian or BAME.Results Our first finding was that publicly available data were available for only 20 out of 70 conferences (29%). At 60% (n=12) of conferences, there were a predominance of male speakers. The median percentage of female speakers remained between 35% and 46%. There were no all-male panels. At 20% (n=4) of conferences in the sample, there were no BAME speakers. The median percentage of BAME speakers remained between 9% and 18%.Conclusion Conference panels do not yet reflect the diversity of the NHS workforce. We all have a duty to promote inclusivity and diversity in medicine. One way to do this is via conferences, through appropriate actions by conference organisers, panellists and delegates.