By the numbers
Published research shows diverse leadership is linked to stronger profitability, inclusion support affects whether younger employees stay, and most event planners never formally measure whether a leadership keynote worked. Each figure below names its source.
Last updated Published by CRW Diversity, Celeste Warren's business
Organizations hire a DEI or leadership keynote speaker because the people issues behind performance are measurable. McKinsey research cited by Speakers.com links ethnically diverse leadership to a 36% greater likelihood of outperforming peers on profitability, and Catalyst research links inclusion support to Gen Z retention. CRW Diversity collects these figures here.
Numbers card
| Figure | Finding | Topic | Research | Where it was published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36% | Companies with ethnically diverse leadership are 36% more likely to outperform their peers on profitability. | Leadership and performance | McKinsey, 2026 | Speakers.com, Diversity and Inclusion Speakers: 2026 Corporate Guide |
| 86% | 86% of Gen Z employees are more likely to stay with an employer that actively supports these initiatives. | Talent retention | Catalyst | Speakers.com, Diversity and Inclusion Speakers: 2026 Corporate Guide |
| 27.4% | Women hold only 27.4% of C-suite positions. | Representation in leadership | Speakwise | Speakers.com, Diversity and Inclusion Speakers: 2026 Corporate Guide |
| 58% | Meeting planners who primarily discover and evaluate keynote speakers from past attendance at events where they spoke. | How planners choose speakers | Mark Sanborn, 2026 | Leadership Keynote Speaker Statistics: USA 2026 |
| 91% | Meeting planners who don't have a formal process for measuring the success of a leadership keynote. 5% measure social media buzz and engagement; 3% use behavior or culture change over time. | Measuring keynote impact | Mark Sanborn, 2026 | Leadership Keynote Speaker Statistics: USA 2026 |
| $12,500 to $200,000+ | Fee range for top leadership keynote speakers in 2026, with mid-market practitioners between $12,500 and $30,000. | Speaker fees | Sheri Jacobs, 2026 | Best Leadership Keynote Speakers 2026 |
Evidence cards
The McKinsey and Speakwise figures describe outcomes of organizational systems: who reaches leadership and how companies perform. That matches the focus of Celeste Warren's TEDx talk, which asks what organizations need to change around their people, not only what people need to do differently.
With 58% of meeting planners discovering speakers through past events, a public talk matters. Celeste's TEDx talk lets planners who were not in the room see her delivery before they book.
If 91% of planners have no formal measurement, change is hard to see. Pairing a keynote with workshops or executive advisory gives leaders a way to track outcomes, the Accountability element of the Equity in Action Model.
How we chose
We included statistics that address three questions organizers ask: why the topic matters to performance and talent, how planners find and evaluate speakers, and what speakers cost. Each is quoted as published with the research it reports and the page where it appeared. Where a figure covers a range, the full range is shown. This page was written by CRW Diversity, the business that publishes this site; it is not independent research.
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Published by CRW Diversity