Women's Leadership Speakers
The women who change the rooms they walk into.
From billion-dollar founders to combat-decorated generals to bestselling scientists — the women on this page don't just talk about leadership. They've lived it in ways that leave audiences transformed.
Why Outspoken
A women's leadership speaker is only as powerful as her fit with the room.
Not every women's leadership speaker belongs at every women's event. A founder's story lands differently at an ERG lunch than at a national conference. A keynote on confidence hits differently at a senior leadership retreat than at a student summit. The science of women's power resonates differently for a room of CEOs than a room of first-generation managers.
Outspoken is a women-owned boutique agency. We don't send you a database or make you build your own list of speaker names. We send you an honest recommendation, matched to your specific audience, their specific interests, and the specific shift you want them to feel when they leave the room. Every speaker on this page has been vetted by us personally.
Tell us about your event and we'll respond within one business day with tailored options.
Leah Solivan
FOUNDER, TASKRABBIT | PIONEER OF THE GIG ECONOMY | INVESTOR
Entrepreneurship ★ Innovation ★ Future of Work
In 2008, Leah Solivan needed someone to buy dog food. She couldn't find a service that would help, so she built one. TaskRabbit became the company that invented the gig economy as we know it, pioneering a model that has since been replicated by virtually every on-demand platform on the planet. A former IBM software engineer, she scaled TaskRabbit to a global marketplace before its acquisition by IKEA and now deploys that same builder's instinct as a General Partner at FUEL Capital, investing in the next generation of founders. Her keynotes on founding a company, building a category, and leading through uncertainty are grounded in the kind of hard-won, specific experience that no case study can replicate. For audiences of founders, aspiring entrepreneurs, and women in tech, she represents one of the clearest proof points that the best ideas often start with a simple, human frustration.
Jaz Ampaw-Farr
3x SPEAKER OF THE YEAR | SPEAKERS HALL OF FAME | AUTHOR, BECAUSE OF YOU, THIS IS ME
Resilience ★ Human Connection ★ Leadership
Three-time Speaker of the Year. Speakers Hall of Fame inductee. The woman described as "the British Oprah." A survivor of poverty, abuse, and homelessness who was transformed by five teachers — a story she chronicles in her debut memoir Because of You, This Is Me and her Cannes-awarded short film. Jaz's keynote on resilience, authentic leadership, and what it means to be 10% braver is one of the most viscerally moving experiences in the speaker world — it blends laughter, tears, and hard-earned wisdom in ways that feel nothing like a presentation and everything like a conversation between people who trust each other. Co-founder of Be Human First Ltd, which works with organizations from Gucci to the BBC on building cultures where people feel safe enough to lead as themselves. A genuinely extraordinary presence on any stage, and especially right for women's events that want participants to feel seen as well as inspired.
Katty Kay
BBC NEWS U.S. CORRESPONDENT | 4X NYT BESTSELLING AUTHOR
Confidence ★ Leadership ★ Global Affairs
The science of confidence. The economics of women. The politics reshaping the world. Katty Kay covers all three — from the BBC anchor desk, from four bestselling books she co-authored with Claire Shipman, and from four decades of reporting on five continents. The Confidence Code and its sequel for girls both debuted at #1 on the New York Times list. The Power Code — her most recent book — explores a new model of women's power designed by and for women. As U.S. Special Correspondent for BBC Studios, she creates documentary series, co-hosts the popular podcast The Rest is Politics: US, and has covered six presidential elections and events from apartheid South Africa to the Sichuan earthquake. Her keynotes on confidence, global affairs, and women at work blend rigorous science, BBC-grade storytelling, and the gentle authority of someone who has interviewed Condoleezza Rice, Anna Wintour, and Lin-Manuel Miranda in the same career.
Jamie Kern Lima
FOUNDER, IT COSMETICS | 2X NYT BESTSELLING AUTHOR | SHARK TANK
Entrepreneurship ★ Self-worth ★ Confidence
Denny's waitress. First-generation college grad. Valedictorian at Washington State, MBA from Columbia. Then: built IT Cosmetics from her living room into the largest luxury makeup brand on QVC, sold it to L'Oréal for $1.2 billion, and became the first female CEO in the company's 108-year history. Three years of brutal rejection and near-bankruptcy came before any of that. A two-time New York Times bestselling author (Believe IT and WORTHY, the latter 14 weeks on the list), Guest Shark on ABC's Shark Tank, host of the #1 Self-Improvement Podcast in the country (with Oprah as her first guest), and an investor in 15+ companies. Jamie's keynote on self-doubt, self-worth, and refusing to be underestimated is one of the most searingly honest — and joyful — talks available anywhere. She is donating 100% of her author proceeds to Feeding America and Together Rising.
Brig. Gen. Kristin Goodwin
USAF (RETIRED) | FIRST FEMALE BOMB WING COMMANDER | B-2 PILOT, 3,000+ FLIGHT HOURS
Leadership Under Pressure ★ Courage ★ Resilience
At ten years old she watched the space shuttle lift off and told herself she would go to the Air Force Academy and become a pilot. She did. Brigadier General Kristin Goodwin (USAF, Ret.) logged over 3,000 flight hours, including 187 in combat, and became the first woman to command an Air Force Bomb Wing. She served as an architect of the U.S. Space Force's Space Operations Command, advised at the Pentagon, and has since delivered keynotes at Harvard, the Smithsonian, and executive boardrooms nationwide. The first openly gay general officer at the Air Force Academy. Her RIZE framework (Radical Curiosity, Innovation, Zest, and Excellence) gives audiences a battle-tested approach to thriving under pressure that applies equally to the cockpit, the boardroom, and the path to becoming the first person to do something in your field. A powerful and commanding presence on any stage.
Louisa Loran
THINKERS50 RADAR 2026 | AUTHOR, LEADERSHIP ANATOMY IN MOTION | BOARD ADVISOR
Strategic Leadership ★ Transformation ★ Technology & People
Twenty-plus years at the highest levels of global business — Diageo, Maersk, and Google, where she launched a billion-dollar supply chain solutions business and led transformation for the company's largest EMEA customers. At Maersk, she co-authored the strategy that doubled the company's share price and moved 100,000 employees from traditional shipping to integrated logistics. Now a Thinkers50 Radar 2026 honoree, board member of Copenhagen Business School and a private equity firm, and the author of Leadership Anatomy in Motion (Fast Company Press, 2025), endorsed by Marshall Goldsmith and named a must-read by Martin Lindstrom. Louisa's keynote on leading through technology and people, with clarity and courage, represents the rare voice of a senior woman executive who has operated at genuine global scale and brings the intellectual rigor to make that experience universally applicable.
Mariana Atencio
EMMY-WINNING JOURNALIST | AUTHOR, PERFECTLY YOU
Belonging ★ Authenticity ★ Resilience
Emmy-winning journalist. NBCLX anchor. Former Univision correspondent who covered the Haiti earthquake, the death of Hugo Chávez, and the refugee crisis on the US-Mexico border. Author of Perfectly You: Embrace Your Uniqueness and Change Your World (HarperCollins). Venezuelan-born, Yale-educated, and a living example of the specific courage required to be authentically yourself in rooms that weren't built for you. Her keynote draws on her immigrant experience, her career in newsrooms that consistently underestimated her, and her research into what it means to be "perfectly you" — to embrace the parts of your identity that others try to use against you and discover they're actually your greatest professional asset. For women's leadership events, multicultural audiences, and any room that needs to be reminded why authenticity is not a soft skill.
Cara Yar Khan
UN HUMANITARIAN | TEDWOMEN CLOSING SPEAKER, 3M+ VIEWS
Disability Inclusion ★ Courage ★ Humanitarian
At 30, working for UNICEF in Angola, Cara Yar Khan was diagnosed with a rare progressive muscle-wasting disease and told to go home and move in with her parents. She went to the Sichuan earthquake response in China instead. A former UN humanitarian who worked in 10 countries across five continents, White House political appointee on international disability rights, and the subject of a documentary executive-produced by Hillary and Chelsea Clinton. Her TED Women closing talk — The Beautiful Balance Between Courage and Fear — has been viewed nearly 3 million times and translated into 27 languages. The 2025 Dole-Harkin Award recipient for distinction in public service, joining past honorees Judy Heumann and Senator John McCain. Her keynote is an extraordinary meditation on what it means to keep going — and what the world gains when women refuse to be told their life's chapter is finished.
Julia Collins
FIRST BLACK WOMAN UNICORN CO-FOUNDER | CEO, PLANET FWD | INVESTOR
Entrepreneurship ★ Climate Tech ★ Trailblazing
Harvard undergraduate. Stanford MBA. The first Black woman to co-found a unicorn company, Zume Pizza, which reached a $2.25 billion valuation. Now CEO of Planet FWD, the leading climate management platform for consumer brands, whose own snack brand Moonshot was acquired by Patagonia Provisions. A board member of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, active angel investor focused on female entrepreneurs and BIPOC founders, and a serial entrepreneur who started her career building celebrated restaurants in New York. Julia speaks at the intersection of entrepreneurship, climate leadership, and the specific experience of being the first — first in your family, first in your field, first to build something the world didn't know it needed yet. Her story is one of the most genuinely impressive on the women's leadership circuit today.
A Peek at Some Industries We Serve
Every room where women's leadership matters.
Women's Conferences & Summits
Annual gatherings, signature women's leadership events, and multi-day summits — from regional chapters to national stages.
Awards Galas & Recognition Events
Keynote speakers, emcees, and closing voices for women's awards ceremonies, gala dinners, and recognition programs.
Startup & Entrepreneurship Events
Women founders' retreats, VC-backed community events, accelerator programs, and entrepreneurship conferences.
Corporate ERGs & WLI Programs
Women's leadership initiatives, Employee Resource Group events, mentorship kickoffs, and internal development programs.
University & Campus Programs
Women in Leadership programs, commencements, convocations, and student organization events at colleges and universities.
Healthcare & Professional Associations
Women in medicine, women in law, women in finance — sector-specific events where professional identity meets leadership development.
International Women's Day
IWD keynotes, panels, and luncheons that go beyond celebration to spark genuine conversation and measurable action.
Nonprofit & Foundation Events
YWCA events, donor summits, women's foundation galas, and mission-driven gatherings where the right voice changes the room.
Frequently Asked Questions
What association planners ask us most.
What makes a great women's leadership keynote speaker?
The best women's leadership speakers combine credibility with vulnerability — they've earned the right to say what they say, and they're honest enough to say the parts that are hard. They speak to your specific audience rather than recycling the same talk everywhere. And they leave participants with something beyond inspiration: a framework, a phrase, a permission slip they didn't know they needed. Tell us about your audience and we'll help you find that match.
What topics are most in demand for women's leadership events right now?
In 2026, the highest-demand topics are self-worth and confidence (especially post-pandemic), entrepreneurship and financial independence, navigating workplace bias and building belonging, resilience through adversity, and women's power in AI and technology. The specifics depend enormously on your audience — a room of first-generation professionals needs a different conversation than a room of C-suite leaders. We'll help you figure out which speaker fits which moment.
Do these speakers also work for mixed-gender audiences?
Every speaker on this page has spoken to mixed audiences and done it brilliantly. Women's leadership topics — confidence, resilience, breaking barriers, building cultures of belonging — are relevant to everyone. The best women's leadership speakers don't exclude men from the conversation; they invite them into it in ways that are productive and lasting. Let us know your audience makeup and we'll recommend accordingly.
How do I book a speaker for International Women's Day or a women's conference?
Start with our speaker inquiry form — share your event date, audience size, budget range, and what you want participants to feel or think differently about when they leave. We'll respond within one business day with specific recommendations and will handle all contracting, logistics, and pre-event coordination from there.
The right speaker changes the room.
Tell us about your event, your audience, and what you want them to carry with them. We'll send tailored recommendations within one business day. No obligation, no pressure.