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Countless highly-credentialed women step into the world of speaking and entrepreneurship—armed with impressive degrees, decades of experience, and the receipts to prove their expertise. Yet so many remain underpaid, or worse, not paid at all for their speaking and consulting.
What’s really at the heart of this persistent pay gap? And how can women bridge it, command their full value, and finally get paid what they deserve?
Let’s break it down.
The Invisible Line Between Corporate and Entrepreneurship
Women excelled in their corporate careers, earning six-figure salaries, hourly rates as professionals, or being billed out at premium rates. In those roles, there were often clear expectations about pay, and negotiating for more—even if not always easy—was a default part of the conversation.
But something happens during the leap into entrepreneurship.
Many women forget the value they brought into those corridors of power. In the speaking world, women accept unpaid breakout sessions or drastically low speaker fees, letting others assign their value, just as companies once did with their salaries.
It’s not a question of qualification. These are women with PhDs, JDs, MBAs, and long lists of accolades. The missing piece is learning to translate that “employer-assigned value” into unapologetic, self-assigned, market-ready value as a sought-after expert.
Systemic Industry Issues and Our Complicity
A major factor is the conference and event industry’s broken payment system. Keynotes get premium fees, yet breakout session powerhouses—the very ones delivering deep expertise—are often the only ones in the room unpaid.
But there’s another layer …
Too many women experts inadvertently allow this system to thrive. Insufficient positioning, unclear value propositions, and lack of confidence to state (and defend) worthy fees keep too many in the cycle of underpayment.
The Internal & External Work of Positioning
Powerful, consistent positioning is the linchpin for commanding higher speaker fees. This means:
Internal clarity: Clearly understanding your true value, the transformation your knowledge brings, and the unique expertise you deliver.
External positioning: Articulating a clear message, developing your own intellectual property, and making sure event organizers see you as the thought leader, not just another expert on the roster.
Without intentional positioning, you become a commodity. Just another name to pick from.
Your Fees Should Reflect Your Professional Value
If a corporation once paid $100,000 or $200,000 for your knowledge over a year, your expertise as a speaker or consultant holds similar market value, just delivered in different ways.
What you charge should factor in:
The years invested in mastering your craft
The tangible outcomes and transformation you deliver
The industry standard, as well as authority pricing reserved for true experts
Pricing is often a made-up game in this industry. Yet, when you fully appreciate your background, results, and specialty, you can justify and confidently communicate fees in the five figures or more.
Leveraging AI for Clarity and Confidence
That’s why I built my custom GPT Aliyah, the Authority Pricing Model Consultant. I want to make bridging the pricing and positioning gap now easier than ever. Aliyah is built, leveraging my decades of experience as a trial lawyer, mediator, arbitrator, high-stakes communications expert and strategic advisor for women experts, to analyze your credentials, experience, and market trends to recommend aligned, credible pricing and provide you with a customized written report to back it up.
Aliyah is more than a calculator. She is a strategic advisor. She will help you see, in black and white, the value you bring so you can state your fees with conviction.
Want access to Aliyah?
Key Takeaways for Women Experts
Positioning is everything. Articulate your unique value. Stand out as a thought leader, not just another expert.
Price with confidence. Stop undercharging. Base your fees on years of experience, transformation offered, and real market value.
Say your rates boldly. Practice stating your fees and staying silent, knowing your value.
Stop accepting invisibility. Stop saying yes to unpaid or underpaid speaking. Industry change starts with your boundaries.
Leverage cutting-edge tools. AI can help reveal the true value of your expertise and support your pricing conversations.
Community matters. Surround yourself with other ambitious women. Share insights, expand opportunities, and grow together.
Ready to Get Paid Your Value?
If you’re ready to move beyond underpayment and step fully into your power as a highly-paid expert, don’t miss the upcoming Speaking Industry Expo in Atlanta, November 3rd–5th. You’ll:
Get hands-on help with positioning, packaging, and pricing your expertise
Use custom AI tools to calculate your authority-level fees
Work alongside driven women experts, learning and implementing together
Secure your spot and take control of your speaking career:
➡️ speakingindustryexpo.com/registration
If you can’t attend the event but want in on the six-week intensive to master your fees and positioning and get early access to Aliyah, drop the word FEES in the comments!
Your expertise is valuable—more valuable than you may realize. It’s time to own that, set your rates, and lead the change in the industry.
Share this post with a woman expert you know deserves to be paid what she’s worth.
About the Author:
Kelly Charles-Collins is Founder of Speaker Moguls and the creator of Speaking Industry Xpo a/k/a THE 6. She teaches speakers, trainers, coaches, and consultants to turn their expertise into an enterprise—without underpricing or undervaluing their work. Through strategic positioning and proven business frameworks, Kelly equips experts to amplify their visibility, package their brilliance, and build sustainable, revenue-generating brands with authority.
