The annual celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD) has become a major corporate event. Organisations are eager to secure inspiring speakers for their IWD events, ranging from ticketed gatherings to internal employee events.
Like other diversity days, IWD always results in numerous speaker enquiries from well-meaning individuals. Although I value the enthusiasm of event planners, the speaker fee discussion often leads to disappointment.
Many organisations, even those with substantial revenues, claim to have “limited budgets” or offer in-kind payments. This financial constraint is understandable for charities and non-profits but less so for large corporations. The irony is that the individuals organising these events are predominantly women, yet the final decision on speakers often rests with men in finance or leadership roles.
Planners often ask, “How can I justify the cost of a 30-minute talk by a speaker charging five figures?”. The answer lies in the speaker’s credentials and experience. This individual likely has a couple of qualifications and extensive experience in their field, including X years of public speaking. They’ve distilled their knowledge into a concise and value-added presentation. It’s a conversation I know all too well. I’m happy to provide support. However, it’s ultimately the responsibility of the event planner to influence their stakeholders.
The event planner usually has the best understanding of the event’s goals and requirements, but decision-makers can sometimes override their decisions. Unfortunately, I’ve experienced instances where decision-makers have cancelled an event at the last minute and appointed an internal speaker (presumably to save costs). Thankfully, I have cancellation terms in place, but this has negatively impacted others — some have had to rearrange their schedules (a lot with carer responsibilities) or pay for a support worker just for the occasion.
The official UN theme for IWD 2025 is “March Forward.” We must recognise and compensate women for their time and expertise to truly embrace this theme. This requires greater solidarity among women, particularly in supporting fair payment for speakers. Additionally, an intersectional approach to speaker selection is crucial, as people with disabilities, LBGTQI, Indigenous, and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds often experience pay disparities. This disparity is not always publicly acknowledged, but it is a reality many speakers face, something I have seen since starting Keynoteworthy in 2019. There’s a mental and emotional toll on these speakers who feel they are less valued because of their identities.
The issue of pay inequity is compounded by the fact that some women, particularly those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, tend to undervalue their services and pitch themselves at lower rates than their Anglo counterparts so they don’t miss out on the speaking opportunity.
To truly “March Forward,” we must recognise the value of women’s time and expertise and compensate them fairly for their contributions. This includes providing adequate speaker fees in their event budgets, adopting an intersectional approach to speaker selection, and addressing the systemic pay inequities that affect women.
When planning IWD events and securing funding for speakers, event planners should:
- Advocate for fair compensation for women’s time, skill and expertise: acknowledge and promote the true value women speakers bring. Ensure transparency in budgeting to prioritise adequate compensation.
- Articulate the speaker’s contribution to the event’s goals and theme: highlight speakers’ achievements and how their expertise aligns with event themes. Show potential impacts on engagement and corporate values to justify their fees to stakeholders.
- Emphasise intersectionality by ensuring representation of women from diverse backgrounds and abilities: build a speaker list that reflects a variety of backgrounds, ensuring multiple voices are heard. Use an inclusive selection process and educate teams on the importance of intersectionality to foster meaningful dialogue.