International Women’s Day (IWD) is one of the world’s largest employee engagement days. Taking place on Monday, March 8 in 2027, we’ve put together a guide to some of our most requested speakers ahead of IWD.
These women have led companies, won Olympic golds, shaped national policy, and represented Canada abroad. Now, they bring those experiences to the stage, tackling the real issues women face today at work and beyond, from leadership and performance to health, growth, equity, resilience, and more.
Contact us to book your IWD speaker today.
Leadership and Influence
Forging new paths for the next generation of leaders to follow, these speakers share what they’ve learned from leading at the top of diplomacy, business, and sport.
Ambassador Kirsten Hillman
Being a First and an Only: Women in Leadership
Throughout her 30-year career as a trade lawyer, policy expert and negotiator, Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s former Ambassador the US, was frequently the first and often only woman in the room. She learned firsthand how to navigate those spaces, build authority, and get results.
Kirsten speaks candidly about her experience — what worked, what didn’t, and the hard-won lessons she carries with her today — offering women at every stage of their career an honest, practical perspective on forging their own path.
Rola Dagher
Inclusive Leadership: Betting on Yourself to Empower Others
Inclusive leadership starts with the courage to stand out. As someone who “didn’t fit in anywhere,” Rola Dagher shares how this became her superpower in creating truly diverse and innovative environments.
Rola’s journey exemplifies the power of resilience and determination to break down barriers and succeed. Through her “elevator mentality” (when you rise, you send the elevator back down), she shows how to measure success by impact, turn setbacks into fuel, and become the mentor you once needed.
Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser
Breaking Barriers: Leading in Challenging Environments
Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser knows what it takes to lead in spaces not built for you. A four-time Olympic gold medallist, physician, and hockey executive, she has spent her career breaking barriers.
Through powerful personal stories, Hayley shares practical strategies for building confidence, overcoming gender bias, and turning challenges into advantages, essential guidance for women charting their leadership journeys and for organizations committed to developing diverse leadership talent.
Mindset and Personal Excellence
Talent gets you in the door; your mindset determines how far you go. These speakers share how to quiet the inner critic, protect your focus, and win the mental game behind high performance.
Liane Davey
Invisible Overload: How Thoughtload is Undermining Performance
If you’re working hard but still feel behind, drained, and distracted, the problem may not be your workload but your “thoughtload” — the hidden strain that wears you down long before your to-do list.
With groundbreaking research and relatable stories, Liane Davey unpacks the three forces that make up the modern thoughtload — attention overload, emotional reactivity, and energy depletion — and offers practical tools to lighten the lift.
Jhanelle Peters
Imposter Syndrome
Self-doubt doesn’t disappear with experience or success. For many, it only gets louder. In this session, registered psychotherapist Jhanelle Peters explains what imposter syndrome is, why it’s so common among high performers, and how it quietly adds to everyday stress.
With warmth and practical insight, she shares tools for building self-awareness, reframing negative thoughts, and being kinder to yourself, so audiences can own their success with confidence.
Jennifer Botterill
Why Not You? How to Excel in Business and Life
Drawing from her new book of the same name, Jennifer Botterill, three-time Olympic gold medalist and hockey hall-of-famer, shows audiences how to reach new levels of excellence, both personally and professionally, sharing the tools and techniques developed throughout her career.
From her signature “no regrets” and “why not you” approach, Jennifer empowers audiences to pursue their dreams with confidence and strive for a new standard of excellence in everything they do.
Health and Wellness
Women’s health has spent too long on the sidelines. These physicians bring it front and centre, with practical, evidence-based advice on energy, mental health, and menopause.
Dr. Catherine Hansen
Fuel, Flow, and Flourish: Women’s Health and Mental Wellness for Everyday Strength
Women today are navigating more than ever — careers, caregiving, and a persistent expectation to do it all without missing a beat, while also managing constant hormonal shifts. The result is a quiet epidemic of stress, burnout, and disconnection.
Physician and women’s health advocate Dr. Catherine Hansen draws on the latest research to share simple evidence-based strategies and rituals to enhance mental and emotional well-being.
Dr. Susan Biali
The Resilient Life: How to Thrive Through Challenge and Change
Physician and stress resilience expert Dr. Susan Biali shares insights and strategies from her book The Resilient Life: Manage Stress, Prevent Burnout, and Strengthen Your Mental and Physical Health.
Blending powerful personal stories with evidence-based tools, she illustrates how to recognize burnout, reduce stress, and strengthen one’s mind and body. Participants will discover practical ways to cultivate lasting resilience and well-being.
Dr. Sheila Wijayasinghe
Owning Your Change: Menopause, Midlife, and Advocacy
The Medical Director of Primary Care Outreach at Women’s College Hospital and a Menopause Society Certified Practitioner, Dr. Sheila Wijayasinghe explores the realities of perimenopause and menopause.
Skilled at translating complex topics into actionable insights, she shares practical strategies for individuals and workplaces to better support women in midlife. She also myth-busts to leave audiences informed, validated, and ready to own their change.
Inspiration and Storytelling
Be inspired. These marquee names captivate audiences with their remarkable stories, sparking reflections and meaningful conversations that remind audiences of what’s possible.
The Honourable Marci Ien
Taking the Leap: A Guide to Embracing the Unexpected
The Honourable Marci Ien details her extraordinary journey from journalism to reluctant political candidate to groundbreaking leader, proving that the most impactful paths are often never planned.
Through candid reflections on becoming Canada’s 100th female MP during a pandemic and as a single mother, navigating two back-to-back elections, and representing the nation on the global stage, this presentation reveals how embracing discomfort becomes the catalyst for extraordinary growth.
Clara Hughes
Open Heart, Open Mind
As an elite athlete, Clara Hughes thrived on powering through pain. Following her retirement from sport, the mantra “movement as medicine” fueled her public advocacy for mental health. But when injury, menopause and the return of her depression forced her to stop, she had to find a new way forward.
Drawing on her new book Learning to Breathe, Clara shares an honest, often funny story of midlife change, of facing pain and healing, and new beginnings.
Tracy Moore
Fireside Chat — Hear Me Out: On Air, Off Air, and Everything In Between
Tracy Moore is best known as the award-winning host of Cityline, where she shared the best style trends, cooked up delicious recipes, and dedicated her platform to empowering women.
Off camera, however, Tracy had to navigate the often toxic media industry, dealing with public scrutiny, microaggressions, and more. Alternately bittersweet and laugh-out-loud funny, Tracy’s story is one of resilience and joy, reminding audiences that there is power in being unapologetically themselves.
Empowerment
Power comes in many forms. These speakers explore three of the most important: the courage to make hard choices, the confidence to manage money and the grit to break in where you’re not expected.
Dr. Samra Zafar
The Power of Incremental Courage: How to Live and Lead with Boldness
Dr. Samra Zafar has had to make many bold decisions in her life. She left an abusive arranged marriage, faced poverty as a single mother, and gave up her successful corporate career to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor.
By sharing her story, Samra shows audiences how to befriend fear. She also illustrates how to tap into your inner strength and shares self-care strategies to help you stay the course.
Melissa Leong
Becoming a Wealthy Woman
Money is one of the most powerful and transformative tools women have to shape their lives. Melissa Leong’s research-backed frameworks help women make strategic decisions, reduce financial stress, and build real momentum with their money.
She cuts through the noise and replaces it with clear, actionable steps — from designing money habits that work with the brain to aligning money with what actually matters.
Alicia Woods
Breaking In: How to Build Your Own Path
At 21, Alicia Woods walked into mining equipment sales knowing she’d have to prove herself. She did whatever it took to be taken seriously in an industry that questioned whether she belonged there at all.
Through sharing her story, Alicia illustrates what it takes to break into male-dominated spaces, sharing practical insights on overcoming self-doubt, navigating skepticism, and refusing to let other people’s limitations become your own.
These are just a few of the incredible women we’re proud to represent on our roster. Contact us to learn more and lock in your date before March books up.
