Innovation Women Newsletter #560

April 24, 2026

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BATMAN, ROBIN AND FRIENDS

Hi ala,

Today's newsletter is about knowing your audience and their pet peeves.

I've been relentlessly targeted by an event headlined by a male duo. We'll call them Batman and Robin. While many people like Batman and Robin, and I am sure Batman and Robin are lovely people, I looked at the event and passed. 

Why? The speaking slate was very unbalanced. Eight men, including Batman and Robin. Three women. And the three women were continually buried in the pictures and mentions. Looking back at their previous events, this event was actually more diverse and inclusive than most of the events they run.

Y'all been here long to know that's my mission. It's more than my pet peeve. It's my place of fury. 

I unsubscribed from the emails. (Not sure how I ended up on the list to begin with.) Now I don't expect this organization to care much but I did tell them why I unsubscribed - I never signed up to get these emails AND your events are not inclusive.

Then I got another email about the event. From another organization. An organization that purports to support women. And I unsubscribed from them too. Sorry folks. The company you keep says a lot.

Bobbie and the entire Innovation Women team

EVENT MANAGER OR EXPERT?

SPEAKER FRIEND FRIDAYS

All are welcome!

Join us today (and every Friday) at 8:45 am ET for Speaker Friend Fridays on Zoom. You can also join us for West Coast Friendly Speaker Friends on the first Friday and third Friday of each month at noon ET/9:00 am PT. Click the links below to RSVP and add the recurring links to your calendar. (Everyone is welcome at these events. Bring a friend, even if they aren't a member.) Event organizers? You're welcome too!

My Speaker Leads is Open!

My Speaker Leads is open for business again! (It has been running a waiting list for the last two years.) What is My Speaker Leads? My Speaker Leads saves professional speakers time and effort by providing a weekly list of leads most likely to convert to paid public speaking opportunities. Sign up today for 200-400 speaking leads every month. 

GET MORE SPEAKING OPPORTUNITIES

We’re here to help you find EVEN MORE speaking opportunities.

Join Innovation Women founder and Speaker Friend Fridays host Bobbie Carlton, an industry veteran who has spent decades getting executives and experts onto high-visibility stages. You’ll get insider secrets and insights you can use immediately.

You know how speaking can drive business growth and dramatically boost your professional visibility, but do you know:

• What event managers, podcast hosts, and media are really looking for in speakers?
• How Innovation Women connects women and other underrepresented voices with speaking opportunities of all kinds?
• Ways you can uncover opportunities most others miss?

Plus, you’ll get a live tour of the Innovation Women speaking opportunity database, a look at our educational resources, and an introduction to our supportive online community. Where other organizations stop short of delivering the real goods, Innovation Women always gives you the inside scoop.

Please join us: Tuesday May 12 at 2:00 pm ET

UPCOMING INNOVATION WOMEN WEBINAR

Build Your Big Back End: How To Add Revenue Streams to Your Speaking Business

Featuring Michelle Villalobos

May 6, 2026, 12:00 - 1:00 pm ET

The speaking industry is shifting in unprecedented ways, with massive uncertainty plaguing traditional speaker models that rely on cushy keynote fees and corporate contracts. If you've been affected or just want to diversify your offerings, consider adding back-end revenue streams that can supplement your speaking. Michelle Villalobos, CSP, has developed a simple framework to create a "Big Back End" using seminars, small events, and group coaching/mastermind programs (all without adding any cheesy or sleazy pitches to your speeches).

In this session, Michelle will share a model that can drive both big revenues and big impact, as well as other game-changing strategies around scaling that she learned "the hard way.” Whether you ultimately choose to embark on this model or not, this presentation will have you thinking about YOUR business model and recurring revenues in a whole new way.

LIONESS MAGAZINE FEATURES

Lioness for the Female Entrepreneur is our digital magazine for women who are starting (or thinking about starting) companies. Get the latest news, tools and resources to launch and scale startups. This week you can read great articles like:

• More Joy, Less Juggle? Why Workplaces Should Get on Board With the Value of Care
• Dr. Rita Renee Equips Women to Lead and Speak

SPEAKING OPPORTUNITIES

Every week our speakers get brand new opportunities and there are even more on our website. There are hundreds of open opportunities on the site right now and we added more than 60 new ones this week! Below are some of the NEW opportunities:

1. Texas Master Naturalist 2026 Annual Meeting 10/22/26 Waco, TX Deadline 05/15/26 - Environmental Services
2. 2026 SSRFC Annual Conference 10/17/26 Los Angeles, CA Deadline 05/15/26 - Hospital and Health Care
3. 2026 VSCA Conference 10/14/26 Hampton, VA Deadline 05/15/26 - Education Management
4. PowerTest27 03/08/27 Orlando, FL Deadline 05/15/26 - Oil and Energy
5. MLA Annual Conference 2026 10/28/26 Novi, MI Deadline 05/15/26 - Libraries



Get hundreds of opportunities like these, a profile on our site, education and more for only $159/year!

EVENTS & OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

Continuity Insights Management Conference - April 27-29

Innovation Women speaker Kristen M. Pope, AICT, CPT will be presenting “AI Blind Spots: Unpacking Failure Modes and Governance Challenges for Operational Resilienc