Today marks the start of the 2019 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. This meeting is the only yearly gathering that brings together leaders of global society to define priorities and shape global, industry, and regional agendas. Participation is by invitation only and is reserved for members of the Forum’s communities, which ensures the solution-oriented substance of the Annual Meeting.

With a theme of “Globalization 4.0”, this year’s meeting aims to bring the international community together to build a shared future amidst an era of widespread insecurity and frustration marked by the challenges associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution. To put it more succinctly, this year’s Annual Meeting is focused on uniting global society to effect real, lasting, and necessary change. Which, in turn, makes it even more shocking that women represent only 22% of the 2019 Annual Meeting participants. Despite the rise of the #MeToo movement and similar feminist movements across the world, women still will not make up even a quarter of this year’s attendees. That’s not only frustrating but concerning.

The unprecedented pace of technological change due to this “Fourth Industrial Revolution” means that our society is already significantly behind and vastly underprepared. But how are we supposed to make up for lost time and push real progress with half of our population being inadequately represented and involved?

As Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum writes, “Clinging to an outdated mindset and tinkering with our existing processes and institutions will not do. Rather, we need to redesign them from the ground up, so that we can capitalize on the new opportunities that await us while avoiding the kind of disruptions that we are witnessing today.” But doesn’t that “outdated mindset” include the exclusion of women from important conversations? Aren’t “existing processes and institutions” the ones that continue to oppress women and prevent them from being integral members of the global community? If Schwab really believes that a global overhaul, so to speak, is necessary to combat the exceedingly quick changes that have come to affect every aspect of society, then maybe he should be placing much more emphasis on having a diverse group of participants that is more closely proportioned to today’s current population.

Without enough women at the table, we are missing out on half of the world’s minds and experiences and ideas. Without enough women at the table, progress will be slow and global society will not be able to keep up with the ever-evolving world we live in. We must include more women in these crucial global conversations because quite frankly, our world and our society cannot afford to do any less.