Topic - Diversity & Inclusion

DEI Keynote Speakers

46 keynote speakers, curated by Speaker Ideas
World-Class Diversity & Inclusion Speakers

Meet our Curated Diversity & Inclusion Speakers

Bring a diversity, equity and inclusion speaker to your event. Tell us your goals and budget. We will shortlist the right speakers, confirm availability and handle logistics.

President Mary Robinson

Former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, covering human rights, public institutions and the legal and policy frameworks that protect participation and equality.

Dame Kelly Holmes

Double Olympic champion who has spoken publicly about sexuality, identity and mental health, examining lived experience of identity, disclosure and mental wellbeing.

Julia Hobsbawm OBE

A workplace futurist, corporate consultant, and author, analysing how hybrid employment patterns, technological overloads, and shifting generational behaviours rewrite the rules of modern workplace culture and strategic employee wellbeing.

Lisa Bodell

An innovation consultant, author, and futures researcher, analysing how corporate simplification, workplace agility, and the elimination of institutional bureaucracy foster cognitive diversity, unlock latent employee creativity, and drive inclusive enterprise problem-solving.

Erica Dhawan

Inclusion through communication, collaboration and the small behavioural signals that affect whether people feel included in hybrid work, informed by writing on collaboration across generational, cultural and physical distance.

Baroness Susan Greenfield CBE

Solitaire Townsend

A sustainability entrepreneur, author, and UN taskforce advisor, analysing how social justice, class diversity, and neurodivergent leadership frameworks intersect with corporate climate strategies to help global enterprises drive inclusive and equitable environmental change.

Cathy O’Dowd

First woman to summit Everest from both sides, bringing first-hand experience of entering and succeeding in an environment historically dominated by men.

Bruce Daisley

A workplace culture consultant, podcaster, and former tech firm vice president, analysing how organisations cultivate deep psychological safety, eliminate toxic workplace behaviors, and implement inclusive management frameworks to support diverse, high-performing corporate teams.

Izzy Wheels – Ailbhe and Izzy Keane

Sisters who built a design business around making wheelchairs something to be seen in, examining design, visibility, personal expression and the way assistive products are perceived.

Aimee Mullins

Paralympic sprinter turned actor and advocate, examining disability, identity, design and the way people understand ability.

Matthew Syed

Cognitive diversity, decision-making and organisational performance, from a writer whose work on cognitive diversity argues that homogeneous expert teams can fail in predictable ways.

KEYNOTE THEMES

Key Topics Covered by Diversity & Inclusion Speakers

The speakers on this page bring experience across disability, neurodiversity, cognitive diversity, gender, generational diversity, human rights, mental health and inclusive workplace culture. The brief should be specific about the part of inclusion the event needs to address.

  • Disability and accessibility
  • Neurodiversity
  • Cognitive diversity
  • Gender and women's leadership
  • Generational diversity
  • Human rights and equality
  • Mental health and stigma
  • Inclusive workplace culture

Lived experience, research, leadership or policy?

Different events may call for a speaker with lived experience, an organisational or research background, experience leading inclusion initiatives, or a policy and human-rights perspective. Being clear about the audience and purpose helps avoid treating diversity and inclusion as a single interchangeable category.

Frequently Asked Questions

A diversity and inclusion keynote can explore inclusive leadership, belonging, workplace culture, bias, accessibility, disability, neurodiversity, gender, race, cultural difference and other aspects of inclusion. The brief should identify which areas are relevant rather than expecting one speaker to cover the entire field.
Speakers may come from leadership, research, psychology, HR, advocacy, organisational change, accessibility, inclusion strategy or direct professional and lived experience related to a particular area. The most appropriate fit depends on whether the event needs a broad organisational perspective or deeper expertise in one dimension of inclusion.
For leaders, a diversity and inclusion keynote can place more emphasis on decision-making, culture, accountability and inclusive leadership. For a wider employee audience, the focus may shift towards awareness, behaviour, belonging and everyday workplace experience. The speaker should be briefed on the audience and purpose of the event.
A specialist is usually the better fit when the event is centred on a particular subject such as disability, neurodiversity, gender or cultural inclusion. A broader diversity and inclusion speaker may be more appropriate when the audience needs to explore how several dimensions of inclusion connect within leadership and workplace culture.

Ready to shortlist?

Tell us about your event. We’ll come back with three to five Diversity & Inclusion speakers matched to your audience, format and event goals.
Call us, e-mail us or use the form below for a free (non-binding) consultation and we will respond within one working day.