Women's History Month 2027: Speakers and Workplace Ideas for US Teams

Women's History Month 2027 runs from Monday, March 1st to Wednesday, March 31st, and the national theme is Financial Literacy, Liberation, and Leadership: Women in Business. Booking Women's History Month speakers is one of the most direct ways to mark it, with sessions that tie women's economic history to the work your teams do now and carry on well past March. Below you'll find the 2027 theme explained, eight PepTalk speakers for US programs, practical ideas for the workplace, including sessions for employee resource groups (ERGs), and answers to the most common booking questions.

PepTalk works with executives, founders, financial experts, authors and civic leaders across the US. Many of our speakers also appear on our women in business speakers, gender equality speakers and International Women's Day speakers pages, so a March booking can slot into a wider program instead of standing on its own.

What is the Women's History Month 2027 theme?

The Women's History Month 2027 theme is Financial Literacy, Liberation, and Leadership: Women in Business, set by the National Women's History Alliance (NWHA). It looks at women's economic rights and financial equity in the United States, builds financial education resources for students, and honors women who shaped business, banking and finance.

The NWHA is running the campaign with the Catalyst Project at St. John's University, through a commemorative magazine and a yearlong social media effort, and expects a coalition of more than 500 schools, universities, banks, professional associations, nonprofits and corporate sponsors. Its financial literacy resources cover building credit, managing college debt, negotiating equitable pay, investing and retirement planning, and protecting against scams. The financial liberation strand looks at landmark moments such as the mid-19th century property rights acts, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.

The magazine's March of Icons calendar honors thirty women leaders across the month, with one honoree spotlighted each day. For employers, the theme opens up conversations about pay equity, access to capital, financial confidence and who gets sponsored into senior roles.

How did Women's History Month begin?

Women's History Month began as a weeklong celebration in Sonoma County, California, in 1978, organized by the Education Task Force of the county's Commission on the Status of Women and timed to International Women's Day on March 8th. President Jimmy Carter proclaimed the first National Women's History Week in February 1980, and in 1987 Congress designated March as Women's History Month.

The NWHA, which grew out of the National Women's History Project, still sets the national theme each year. The 2025 theme was Moving Forward Together, and the 2026 theme was Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future. The NWHA describes 2027 as part of the 50th anniversary era of the national women's history movement, which dates to 1978.

How does Women's History Month relate to International Women's Day?

International Women's Day falls on Monday, March 8th, 2027, inside Women's History Month, and the month was built around that date from the start. For 2027 the NWHA is keeping March 8th open for schools, banks and community groups to honor a woman business leader from their own community. Our guide to International Women's Day themes covers the global observance, and our International Women's Day speakers roundup suits the same date.

When is Women's History Month in Canada?

Women's History Month in Canada takes place in October. It centres on Persons Day on October 18th, which marks the 1929 ruling that recognised women as persons under Canadian law. Organizations with teams in both countries can plan one program for March and another for October.

Which speakers suit Women's History Month 2027?

The best speakers for Women's History Month 2027 connect women's economic history to the money, leadership and business decisions your organization faces today. The eight below cover banking, wealth management, entrepreneurship, corporate leadership, business history and civic participation, so you can match the speaker to your audience and to this year's theme.

Carla Harris

Carla Harris spent more than three decades at Morgan Stanley, which she joined in 1987, and was the first African American on the firm's management committee. She served as Vice Chairman of Wealth Management from 2013 to 2021, and President Barack Obama appointed her to chair the National Women's Business Council in 2013. Her Eight Pearls of Leadership framework suits leadership teams and women's networks, and fits a theme about women in business and finance.

PepTalk Fact: Carla is also a gospel recording artist with three albums to her name 🎤

Learn more and book Carla Harris →

Winnie Sun

Winnie Sun is Managing Partner at Sun Group Wealth Partners and a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council, with more than 20 years in financial services, including time at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. Her insights appear in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, and she contributes to Forbes. She works with organizations on financial literacy and wealth management, which maps directly onto the first strand of this year's theme.

Learn more and book Winnie Sun →

Jamie Kern Lima

Jamie Kern Lima founded IT Cosmetics in her living room, built it into the largest luxury makeup brand in the country and sold it to L'Oréal in a billion-dollar deal. She is a two-time New York Times bestselling author of Believe It and WORTHY, and appears on Forbes' list of America's Richest Self-Made Women. She suits entrepreneurship programs, women's networks and events about building a company from the ground up.

Learn more and book Jamie Kern Lima →

Linda Alvarado

Linda Alvarado is President and CEO of Alvarado Construction in Denver and a co-owner of the Colorado Rockies, making her the first Latino owner of a Major League Baseball team and the first woman to bid for ownership of a major league franchise. She has held board roles at five Fortune 1000 companies, including 3M and Pitney Bowes, and received the Horatio Alger Award. Her session MLB (Major League Business) Strategies suits entrepreneurship audiences and events on women's advancement in business.

Learn more and book Linda Alvarado →

Julia Stewart

Julia Stewart served nearly 20 years as Chair and CEO of IHOP and later Dine Brands Global, where the acquisition of Applebee's created the world's largest sit-down restaurant chain. Fortune named her among the 50 Most Powerful Women in the US. She is now founder and CEO of Alurx, an AI-powered wellness company, and speaks to leadership teams on navigating change, making decisions under uncertainty and building resilience.

Learn more and book Julia Stewart →

Carvajalino Sisters

Daniela, Karen and Stephanie Carvajalino founded Biz Nation, an online education platform that has trained more than 500,000 Latino small business owners across nine countries. They also established CIS, a K-12 school in Colombia built around financial literacy, entrepreneurship and technology, and have been recognized by the World Economic Forum and the White House. Their latest book is How to Start a Business Without Money, and their work speaks directly to the financial literacy strand of the theme.

Learn more and book Carvajalino Sisters →

Lauren Leader

Lauren Leader is co-founder and CEO of All In Together, a nonpartisan nonprofit for women's civic and political leadership that has trained hundreds of thousands of women across the United States. She founded Leader Chivee Advisors, previously served as president of the Center for Talent Innovation, and was named a Presidential Leadership Scholar in 2018. She suits sessions on women's participation in business and public life, from talent strategy to civic engagement.

Learn more and book Lauren Leader →

Deah Berry Mitchell

Deah Berry Mitchell is a historian and cultural preservationist, CEO of Nostalgia Black Group and a PhD candidate in history at the University of North Texas. She created Deep Ellum AR, the first augmented reality app in the US developed by a woman to highlight Black history, and founded the sold-out Soul of DFW history tours. A 2023 to 2024 Julia Child Foundation Fellow, she speaks on Discovering Texas' Successful Black Entrepreneurs and on Black American foodways. In 2026 PepTalk booked her for a virtual fireside chat for a US energy company's employee resource group.

Learn more and book Deah Berry Mitchell →

How can you mark Women's History Month at work?

Start with one headline session, then add smaller activities across March. A keynote or panel gives the month a focal point, and events run by your women's network tie it back to your own people. The 2027 theme gives each activity something concrete to build on.

• Book a speaker for a headline session. A 45 to 60 minute keynote gives the whole organization a shared reference point, and works in person, virtually or hybrid across several offices.
• Run a financial literacy session. Credit, retirement saving, investing and spotting scams are the topics the NWHA is building resources around, and all of them translate into employee sessions. Our personal finance speakers and finance speakers cover them.
• Mark March 8th locally. Honor a woman from your own organization or community, in the spirit of the NWHA's local icon approach. A short fireside conversation with one of your own leaders works well.
• Back your ERGs. Employee resource groups, including women's networks and cross-ERG coalitions, are often where Women's History Month programming starts. Give them budget for an external speaker and let them choose the topic, then open the session to the whole organization. Pair an expert with ERG leaders in a panel discussion or fireside chat, so the conversation reflects your own people.
• Put the history to work on pay and policy. The Equal Pay Act of 1963, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 give a clear starting point for a conversation about pay, flexibility and leave in your own organization.
• Plan beyond March. Treat the month as the start of a year-round program. Our DEI calendar for 2027 sets out the other dates worth planning around, and our guide to women's leadership development speakers suits follow-up sessions.

When should you book a Women's History Month speaker for 2027?

Book a Women's History Month speaker for March 2027 by early January. March is a busy month for women's networks and International Women's Day events, and the best-known names are usually held well ahead. If you want a headline session, secure the date first and confirm the format afterwards.

It also helps to see what else is happening in the month. Our March awareness days and cultural calendar lists the other dates to plan around, and our women in business speakers roundup adds more names.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Women's History Month 2027?

Women's History Month 2027 runs from Monday, March 1st to Wednesday, March 31st in the United States. International Women's Day falls on Monday, March 8th, inside the month.

What is the theme for Women's History Month 2027?

The theme for Women's History Month 2027 is Financial Literacy, Liberation, and Leadership: Women in Business, set by the National Women's History Alliance. It covers women's economic rights, financial education and the stories of women who shaped business and banking.

How far in advance should I book a Women's History Month speaker?

Book a Women's History Month speaker for a March event by early January. The most requested names are often held well before the month starts. For a virtual session, four to six weeks can work.

How much does a Women's History Month speaker cost?

A Women's History Month speaker in the US typically costs from $5,000 for an in-person session, rising with profile and format. March is a busy month, so availability tightens as it approaches. PepTalk gives you a clear quote for your date.

What is the difference between Women's History Month and International Women's Day?

Women's History Month is a US observance that runs through March. International Women's Day is a global observance on March 8th, and the month grew from a 1978 weeklong event built around that date. Canada marks Women's History Month in October instead, so teams working across both countries can plan two moments a year.

📩 Looking for Women's History Month speakers for your March 2027 program? Tell us your theme and your audience, and we will find the perfect PepTalk expert for your organization. Send us a message via the chat and we'll take it from there. Remember, it's always a good time to get a PepTalk!