Okay, I'm going to reach far now: Sorry, but this is blogspam. You have to ask yourself: What is the purpose of this post here? What exactly do you want to achieve by posting it here? The answer is clear, this is posted here solely for generating publicity.
Now let's dig again: Why do you want publicity for this?
If there is a real issue here, take it up with someone who is actually responsible for fixing it.
If you want to publicly shame people, then keep posting it on sites like HN.
99% of all the people visiting this site won't ever concern this issue, and as surprising as it is to myself, I'm actually a little offended by your insinuation that I should care about this. But that's not the actual problem I have with your post. The real issue is that this kind of topic has been discussed a million times, and therefore has no place on HN.
"If there is a real issue here, take it up with someone who is actually responsible for fixing it." <-- the problem is that addressing the issue with the person who is actually responsible doesn't solve the problem. Unfortunately, in many cases, some sort of public shame is the only real way to rectify behavior. We see these issues of sexual discrimination and harassment all the time, and even with years of lecturing people still don't get the message.
"If you want to publicly shame people, then keep posting it on sites like HN." <-- Unfortunately, I don't think that was her point. If others are made aware of the circumstances, and see that someone relatively influential is making a comment about it, other women won't feel like they are alone. Having been on the receiving end of other types of discrimination, I can empathize with the feeling of loneliness and desire to keep quiet.
What kind of helpful public shame is supposed to come about? Men who are not pigs will probably just think "this doesn't concern me". Men who are pigs are not shamed by the blog post in any way, so they are unlikely to change their ways because of it.
Since no names were called out, there is nothing the innocent bystander could do (like boycotting the conference).
So you agree that women should exchange favors with men for professional speaking appearances or that because of it's frequency it should not be spoken of?
99% of all the people visiting this site won't ever concern this issue, and as surprising as it is to myself, I'm actually a little offended by your insinuation that I should care about this. But that's not the actual problem I have with your post. The real issue is that this kind of topic has been discussed a million times, and therefore has no place on HN.