The explanation is right there in the story: most keynote speaker slots are paid for. The vendor's marketing departments paying for the high-profile sales pitch don't care about conference diversity, only about the marketing message. There might be plenty of women in the industry, but if each company sees a slight advantage in a male keynote speaker, that's all you'll get.
Paying for keynote slots isn't new, but it has become the norm .
Biting the hand that feeds IT
