You've signed the Choir Pledge™ – now what?

Thank you for using your voice and platform to help bring diverse Voices to conference stages!

We created the following resources to help you promote your involvement loudly and proudly, along with helpful scripts and tools for engaging with conference organizers.

Social & Website Images/Copy

Tell the world you signed the pledge! Images and web copy for speaker, attendee, and sponsor signers.

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Email Copy

Language to use in emails to conference organizers to explain what the Choir Pledge is and how you're committed

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Legal Language

Cover your legal bases with this templated contract language kindly provided by attorney, Max Schatzow.

DISCLAIMER: This is only a form of agreement and is not intended to provide legal advice. We do not provide legal, business, or tax advice.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When will my name show up on the signatory page?

Who can sign the Pledge?

Who monitors the Pledge to make sure signatories are compliant?

When you sign the Choir Pledge, you receive an email verification so we can make sure all signatories are legitimate. After that, it’s up to you and/or your team to ensure you’re following through with the pledge. If you run into challenges or find yourself in a situation out of your control, reach out to us! We can help.

Please know that Choir is not “policing” signatories, but if we see repeated or intentional “violations” we may opt to remove your name from the site.

What do I do if a conference asks me to speak but clearly doesn't meet the Pledge criteria?

The email template included on this page can be used as best-practice to respond to conference organizers each time they ask you to speak. It’s only a template and you should feel free to customize it to your liking.

If the conference organizer responds and says they will meet the criteria, great! You may want to check in when the event agenda is closer to completion to make sure it still looks to be on track. If they are not, you’ll have to decide whether to decline to participate, offer to help find speakers, or participate and be out of sync with your pledge commitment.

What happens if conferences change the lineup at the last minute?

We recognize that conferences are complex events with a lot of moving parts, and last-minute changes may happen. If you are committed to the theory behind the pledge and end up at a conference that doesn’t meet pledge metrics at the last minute, we encourage you to acknowledge in whatever form makes sense to you – such as. a private note to conference organizers, a note on social media, or whatever your style is.

What's the difference between the Choir Pledge and the Choir Certification?

The Choir Pledge

Sets baseline
speaker representation
and safety standards.

Conference Speaker Representation
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White Men

0%

Women &
People of Color

The Choir Certification

The “Gold Standard” is for conference stages to include the voices of women and people of color in proportion to their representation
in the U.S. population.

U.S.
Population
0%

0%

White Men

0%

White Women

0%

Men of Color

0%

Women of Color

Do Choir Certified Conferences also meet the Pledge standards?

Can I use your legal language in my speaker contract?

Yes, and in fact, we encourage you to! If you’re a paid speaker and want to add pledge metrics to your speaking contracts, attorney and friend of Choir Max Schatzow, Esq. drafted this letter that you can either use as a side letter or as language incorporated directly into your contract. Like in the email templates, you should feel free to customize this letter to your specific needs. This is only a form of agreement and is not intended to provide legal advice. We are not lawyers or a law firm and we do not provide legal, business, or tax advice.

I’ve signed the pledge. What more can I do to help?

We appreciate you and thank you for helping further our mission. If you’d like to do more, here are a couple of ways you can spread the word:

Share the pledge with other allies in your network and encourage them to sign, too! You can use the website or email language we provided as a template.
Make it a common practice to reinforce your pledge commitment each time you’re asked to speak. The more conference organizers that know about Choir, the more change we can create.
Encourage your favorite conferences to get Choir Certified! Tag them and @hellochoir on Twitter or send them our way. We’d be happy to help.
Lastly, if there are women, non-binary people, and people of color in your network who are experts in any area of finance, you can send them to Choir Voices to sign up for our Voices platform. There, they can connect directly with all levels of speaking and media opportunities.

You've signed the Choir Pledge™ – now what?

Thank you for using your voice and platform to help bring diverse Voices to conference stages!

Social & Website Images/Copy

Email Copy

Legal Language

Frequently Asked Questions

The Choir Pledge

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The Choir Certification

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Email Us: info@hellochoir.com

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