261: Closing the Gender Speaking Gap with Kristin Oakley

You won't want to miss the story I share in this episode that made me so mad at the time.

About 5 years ago, I was attending an event run by a very prominent women's organization and I couldn't believe who they had on stage.

Here's a hint: It has to do with our topic today, which is the gender speaking gap.

Similar to the gender pay gap, the gender speaking gap represents the disparity between the number of women and men we see speaking at events, from high-profile keynotes to panel discussions (#nomoremanels).

We know how important it is for more women to be visible and have a public voice, so I’m excited to have Kristin Oakley as my guest.

Kristin is a professional speaker, emcee, on-camera presenter and Personal Empowerment Coach™ with over 20 years of public speaking and presenting experience across multiple industries.

She’s passionate about closing the gender speaking gap, which I learned more about during the VIP Day we did to create her new signature talk.

In this episode, Kristin and I talk about:

• The gender speaking gap and what we can do about it
• Lessons she’s learned as a professional speaker for the past 20 years
• How the pandemic has changed what audiences want from speakers as in-person events are starting to return
• Why she decided to book a VIP Day and what the experience was like

(This is the audio from one of our LinkedIn Live shows.)

About My Guest: Kristin Oakley is a professional speaker, emcee, on-camera presenter and Personal Empowerment Coach™ with over 20 years of public speaking and presenting experience across multiple industries. She spent 12 years as an on-camera host and professional spokesperson, traveling throughout North America as a presenter for top brands within the automotive, technology, and financial services industries – and was even a guest presenter on QVC! She is a professional member of the National Speakers Association, and creator of the Unstoppable Speaker Program and the Unstoppable Speaker Challenge: 10 Days to Master Your Fear of Public Speaking. She was also named the 2020 Unstoppable Influencer of the Year.

About Us: The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox. At Speaking Your Brand, we help women entrepreneurs and professionals clarify their brand message and story, create their signature talks, and develop their thought leadership platforms. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power because it's through women's stories and visibility that we challenge the status quo and change existing systems. Check out our coaching programs at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.

Links:

Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/261

Watch the video of our conversation from LinkedIn Live: https://www.linkedin.com/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:6866024667812032512/

Download our FREE workbook on how to position yourself as a thought leader: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/guide/.

Schedule a consult call with us to talk about creating your signature talk and thought leadership platform: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/contact.

Connect on LinkedIn:

• Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox
• Kristin Oakley (guest) = https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinoakleyspeaker/

Related Podcast Episodes:

• Episode 251: What Makes Public Speaking Unique as a Medium with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz
• Episode 243: How We Create a Signature Talk in a VIP Day

Become Bookable Live Online Workshop - April 15, 2026
If you want to speak more but you’re not sure where to start or your efforts haven’t produced the results you want, I’m hosting a live online workshop called “Become Bookable: How to Get Speaking Invitations” on Wednesday, April 15th.

A lot of brilliant women assume they just need to pitch themselves more. But the real reason speakers get invited isn’t because they pitch harder — it’s because they’re positioned as bookable.

In this 3-hour interactive workshop live on Zoom, I’ll show you how speakers actually get invited — and help you clarify the positioning that makes event organizers say yes.

As a podcast listener, use the coupon code “Podcast100” to save $100 on your registration.

Learn more and register at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/bookable