Introducing a curated list of the most diverse and inspirational women speakers…
A couple of years ago I attended an event on International Women’s Day; I was shocked when out onto the stage stepped a male keynote speaker, who talked about fast cars and Formula 1. I’ve thought about that event a lot over the years and seen positive change in companies bringing in great women speakers instead – as it should be! But I know that the last-minute rush to find a female lead means that it’s often the same figures who are platformed again and again.
So, if you are looking for diverse and inspirational women speakers in the UK, I have curated this list of impressive individuals. From successful businesswomen to broadcasters, and from FinTech experts to leaders in the arts and climate justice sectors, I am excited to share some truly great female speakers for your next event, be it an International Women’s Day panel to a conference or charity gig. To book one of these leading female public speakers, simply contact them via their links below.
Mary Agbesanwa, London, UK
The founder of Now You’re Talking Network, Mary connects a community of ambitious future female leaders with opportunities and resources to help them to earn more and be more confident. She previously worked as a Manager of Consulting for Fintechs and Banks at PWC and is currently a Fintech Growth Lead at Seccl.
Previous speaker clients include 30% Club, General Assembly and Barclays
Specialist speaker topics: FinTech, financial inclusion, wealth tech, women in tech and battling imposter syndrome.
Leah Brown, London, UK
Leah’s legal career started at the Bar, and she trained as an M&A lawyer at a magic circle firm. She has since worked for public companies, boutique investment firms and a Middle Eastern government. Leah transitioned into FinTech a few years ago where she has been working as a General Counsel and Company Secretary. Alongside her legal career, Leah is an engaging speaker for events on topics ranging from diversity to justice.
Previous speaker clients include GlobalMindED, Jameson Legal and Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship.
Specialist speaker topics: faith, trauma, careers and personal development.
Lingjing Yin, London, UK
Lingjing is an experienced leader in digital transformation, complex service redesign, systematic change and innovation, working at the intersection of design, technology and change. Currently, Lingjing is the Head of Product at Royal Borough of Greenwich, leading a team of in-house researchers, designers, product person and change makers. Prior to that, she was a Design Director @FutureGov, the Interim Head of Design @BFI. She has extensive experience in delivering services, award-winning digital products and positive organisational and social outcomes in different sectors for organisations in England, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Previous speaker clients include NHS Health and Innovation Expo, LocalGov Camp, Accessing Health Care Meet-up, Open Gov in Sweden.
Specialist speaker topics: Organisational design and change. Growing a digital & design team in local government. Culture and leadership. Creating a balanced Digital transformation portfolio. Designing complex services.
Isabel Sachs, London, UK
Isabel Sachs is an entrepreneur and creative producer with over 15 years of experience in the Creative Industries worldwide. As the founder of I LIKE NETWORKING, she has delivered events and workshops for businesses, arts organizations, and non-profits such as The New York Times, General Assembly, Young People in the Arts, The Floor, and The Victoria & Albert Museum. In 2021, I LIKE NETWORKING was awarded the D&AD Side Hustle Awards.
Previous speaker clients include the New York Times, General Assembly and Somerset House
Specialist speaker topics: Networking, Linkedin for Creatives, Building your Online Presence, Partnerships
Giulia Marzetti, London, UK / Brussels, Belgium
A female in engineering and an engineer in government, Giulia has crafted a portfolio career as a consultant, project manager and policy officer in sustainable transport, energy storage, and AI applied to cities and industry. She is currently overseeing an €80Million portfolio of sustainable innovation projects in Europe fostering a green transition. As a UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) advocate, Giulia is passionate about using technologies to build a more sustainable and equitable world. Throughout her career, Giulia has spoken to UNFCCC Conference of Party in Katowice COP24, GSTIC and has had many more engagement with the EU and UN on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Giulia has country expertise in Bangladesh, India, Italy, Australia, UK, US, Spain and Belgium.
Previous speaker clients include Women X Impact, UNIDO, Global Science and Technology Innovation Conference
Specialist speaker topics: Sustainability, Women in Tech, Diversity in STEM, Gender Equality and Climate Justice
Shirin Shah, London, UK
Shirin is a solicitor, co-founder of South Asian Sisters Speak (SASS) and the trustee of East End Women’s Museum. She is particularly passionate about diversity and inclusion and community action, and has significant experience speaking at events, and on podcasts and the radio.
Previous speaker clients include Wise, An Indian Summer Festival, CMS UK
Specialist speaker topics: Diversity & Inclusion, experiences of South Asian women, side hustles, women on boards, community building/social entrepreneurship
Olamide Majekodunmi, London, UK
Olamide is a personal finance expert and founder of All Things Money, a personal finance platform that aims to teach young adults the financial tips and information needed to survive adulthood.
Previous speaker clients include General Assembly, University of Birmingham, South Essex College
Specialist speaker topics: Personal finance: Budgeting, Saving, Investing, Debt, University life
Annabel Ashalley-Anthony, London, UK
Annabel Ashalley-Anthony is an award-winning writer. Her novel ‘A Thousand natural shocks’ was Long-listed for the Lucy Cavendish Prize 2020. Annabel is a Women in Games Ambassador and the founder of award-winning gaming community: Melanin Gamers, a gaming community that promotes inclusion and diversity in the video games industry. Melanin Gamers were the recipients of Barnet’s Big Idea Entrepreneurial prize 2020. Alongside her passion for writing and gaming; she is also an avid fundraiser and regularly works with the Bloodfund an Imperial Health Charity to raise awareness and funds for Sickle-Cell Anaemia.
Previous speaker clients include Comic-Con, Ubisoft and Ghana Esports
Specialist speaker topics: Gaming, Representation, Disability, Black Writers and Sickle-cell Anaemia
Bhavini Khatri, London, UK
Bhavini is both a Trainee Solicitor and the proud founder of Bespoke – The Company, a dance company. The values behind her company focus on developing raw talent whilst ensuring a safe and positive experience for her team and clients. In a world which focuses on dancing for Instagram, she encourages her team and students to dance to express and improve. As she explains: “Our business is both artist and client focused. Having been told that you must look a certain way, have a big following, change yourself to fit the industry, I have set out to create a new environment for thriving dancers who focus on their talent and in turn, we provide the best bespoke dance experience for our clients. In a world driven by social media, I’m keen to encourage authentic, raw and real experiences.”
Specialist speaker topics: entertainment in a social media driven generation, focus on self-development rather than trends, valuing your team, creating a safe working environment and balancing management with friendship
Tomi Ibirogba, London, UK
Tomi is a 2021 WeAreTheCity Rising Star Award Winner for HR & Recruitment. She currently serves as the People Advisor at a London based FinTech & the fastest growing company in Europe to reach unicorn status. Previously, she worked at British Airways where she secured 2 excellence awards for going over & beyond her daily duties. In March 2020, she founded My Career Couch – a platform designed to help international black students, immigrants & professionals abroad advance in the early stages of their careers through workshops, mentorship and tailored services. Since its launch, she has helped several jobseekers land career-defining roles in top multinationals including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Shell, Deliveroo, Experian, UMG and many more.
Previous speaker clients include Career Masterclass, The Voltage Revolution and We Are Diverse
Specialist speaker topics: Career related topics, including CVs, LinkedIn, Cover Letters, Job Applications, Interviews, Confidence, Workplace Visibility, Personal Branding, Adapting to living & working abroad
Pato Kelesitse, Gaborone, Botswana (and available for virtual speaker events)
Pato is an advocate for climate justice, with a gendered lens, as a key pillar of development. She engages in conversation as a primary tool of advocacy. Her experience in advocacy includes youth and community engagement, conversation facilitation, and project coordination. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Accounting and Finance and is pursuing a Masters of Arts in Development Studies at the University of Botswana. Kelesitse is the founder of Sustain267 and the host of the Sustain267 Podcast, a series of conversations on climate change and sustainability with Africans to amplify their voices and solutions within the climate justice movement. She has previously served as the coordinator of Resilient 40, a network of over 60 youth climate activists and professionals, representing 29 African countries. At present, she is the administrator at South African Climate Action Network, a part of the Climate Action Network (CAN), a worldwide network of over 1300 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in over 130 countries. Kelesitse is a member of the Global Shaper’s Community- Gaborone Hub, a World Economic Forum youth initiative and serves as the Climate and Environment Steering Committee Southern Africa Regional Lead. She is a Climate Reality Leader trained in 2018
Previous speaker clients include United Nations Botswana, The Climate Relaity Project and UN Major Group for Children & Youth, Migration Working Group
Specialist speaker topics: Climate Justice in Africa, Climate Change and Sustainability, Intersection of Women and Climate Justice, Youth participation in addressing Climate Change and Sustainable Development in Africa
Fiona Chorlton-Voong, London, UK
Fiona Chorlton-Voong is the Co-Founder and COO of The Portfolio Collective, the world’s fastest growing online community for portfolio professionals. The first fifteen years of her career were spent developing brand strategy in high-end fashion houses and teaching sales processes to tech engineers. As her leadership skills evolved, she shifted focus to the world of startups, helping an ultra high net-worth individual sourcing tech startups and launching HighNetwork, an enterprise app for professional service firms. In 2020 she co-founded The Portfolio Collective, a platform for a global community of inspiring portfolio professionals. Fiona is also a certified MBTI Coach and mentors female leaders and founders.
Previous speaker clients include Clyde & Co, Moore Stephens, Founder’s Circle
Specialist speaker topics: Personal Branding, Portfolio Careers, Future of Work, MBTI
Amaka Uche, London, UK
Amaka is interested in helping young people get the job they want. With many years working for the highest corporate brands, Amaka shares tips and real life examples in an empowering way on how to make it to the top.
Previous speaker clients include Wetherby boys school, 2-3 degrees, 18-30 club
Specialist speaker topics: Careers, self confidence, job seeking, positive mindset, corporate life
Ekua Cant, London, UK
Ekua is an author and career clarity coach. She is no stranger to career change or transitions and is using her positive style to coach ambitious women to unlock their mindset, gain career clarity and create career success on their own terms. She is the author of a motivational self-help book called, Be Your No.1 Cheerleader, which uses the entrepreneurial journey to encourage active positive self-development. Ekua started her career as a personal assistant to a Director working in the UK Civil Service, working with numerous Government Departments the Cabinet Office, Home Office and left as an IT Project Manager. Whilst working in the Civil Service she founded 2 startups, Layover Adventure and the Hackathon Queen. She’s been an employee, contractor, and is an entrepreneur.
She has led multi-million pound public sector digital transformations. She was also awarded a ticket to Barack Obama’s acceptance for the nomination to the Democratic party for her campaigning work for the civic voluntary organisation DCVote. She has completed the London Marathon in 2018 one of the hottest on record! She formerly ran DrinksBot, an on-demand drinks delivery service enabled by a Slack Chatbot. She’s met the Queen twice and is an advocate for Black Women in Tech and Co-Vice Chair of (TLA Black Women in Tech).
Previous speaker clients include TLA Black Women In Tech, Speaker Generation Jungle and Eduventure Imperial Careers Talks
Specialist speaker topics: Imposter Syndrome, Mental Resilience, Burnout, Growth Mindset, Self promotion, visibility and becoming your own cheerleader
Alexis Owuadey, London, UK
Alexis is an Investment Banking Associate at J.P. Morgan and has been within the UK Investment Bank for the past 5 years. She has had experience in Equity Capital Markets as well as Consumer and Retail coverage where she specialised in the e-commerce, luxury and lifestyle sectors executing Burberry’s £300m sustainability bond and Marston’s £500m Joint Venture. More recently, Alexis has been covering UK Investment Companies raising over £2bn for clients over the past year. Outside of banking, Alexis is passionate about start ups and acts as a strategy consultant for start-ups and D2C businesses having launched her own business The Thrive Collective (thethrivecollective.uk) in 2020.
Previous speaker clients include J.P. Morgan, InvestIN, WCAN
Specialist speaker topics: Careers, Investment Banking, Personal Finance, Property, Side Hustle
Sara Osterholzer, Brighton, UK
Sara is an impact-entrepreneur and good business optimist, most recently co-founded The Good Business Club. She also mentors the next generation of leaders looking to redesign the world of business, for good. When she’s not banging the drum for purpose-led business, you can find her touring around on her motorbike or breaking the taboo around mental health.
And finally, a little bit about me, as I am also available as a speaker for your events!
Previous speaker clients include University of Sussex, Creative Shock, Venture Crawl
Specialist speaker topics: Social entrepreneurship journey, Good business models and practices, starting up a good business, overcoming social anxiety, female entrepreneurs
Ayo Odusanya, Derby, UK
Ayo is a lawyer and currently works in Compliance and Anti-Money Laundering with the Property Sector. She is the founder and head consultant at Lead Collective, a legal consultancy firm which makes legal knowledge accessible for business owners; she leads on helping them to own their intellectual property, scale their business and ultimately maximise their profit.
Previous speaker clients include Barking Abbey Sixth Form, Royal Docks Community School, Now You’re Talking
Specialist speaker topics: Entrepreneurship Mindset, Legal Strategy For Your Business, Brand Protection, Work life balance: making progress while staying sane, Imposter Syndrome, Faith and business
Rituja Ravikiran Rao, London, UK
Rituja is an award-winning Delivery Manager, Industry Speaker and emerging thought leader. She is a strong advocate of skills diversity in Tech, social mobility and uses her platforms to raise awareness about no-code tech careers. Currently a Senior Enterprise Project Manager at Deliveroo, she is also a content creator, Tech Mentor, aspiring VC and sits on Boards at various organisations.
Previous speaker clients include Amazon, QA, University of Westminster
Specialist speaker topics: Career Change, DEI, No Code Tech Careers, Tech Project Management, Personal Branding
Ruth Millington, London/Birmingham, UK
And finally – I am an art historian, critic and author, specialising in modern and contemporary art. I have written for national newspapers and have been featured as an art expert on TV and radio. My first book, ‘Muse'(Penguin), uncovers the hidden figures behind art history’s masterpieces.
Previous speaker clients include BBC, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Women’s Aid
Specialist speaker topics: Art history, culture, the art market, gender, feminism
This list of Inspirational Women Speakers in the UK was compiled in collaboration with Now You’re Talking Network. A global female community, it is focused on supporting women to level up personally and professionally through access to opportunities and resources so that they earn more and be more confident
For a list of more Inspirational women speakers, you can access this list here:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1udazdSxvnVqzwOyDt9DsJKUcDMLzc61EWlOzNeILBr4/edit#gid=735152437
