Sarah, after what happened at SXSW between Google Chairman Eric Schmidt and his fellow panelist, Megan Smith, the United States’ chief technology officer and a former Google executive. Evidently, he kept interrupting her. Which, as a professional panel moderator, I see this happen all the time (or the moderator gives more deference to the male panelists than the women). Perhaps we should add a #3) The women we ask don’t want to be bothered — knowing that they aren’t going to get equal airtime!

I think it’s GREAT that you are being solutions-focused. I love the idea of a Female Investors Opportunities List — and let’s not forget there are other ways to bring diversity to the panel (the format and/or the moderator can be another diverse source).