A woman with gray hair, wearing black glasses, and a dark plaid dress, speaking and gesturing with her hands, standing against a concrete wall and a dark background.

My work is about innovation and inclusion — and what we’ve all been missing by keeping them apart.

Sarah Kaplan — Speaker, Professor, Author, Expert on Inclusion and Innovation

Author | Speaker | Thinker

Along the way, I use science to bust myths about meritocracy, the gender wage gap, women’s risk aversion, “niche” markets, what holds women entrepreneurs back, and the business case for diversity.

Learn about my new book!
Book me for a keynote

Ideas that change how you see the world.

Sarah Kaplan is one of the world's leading thinkers on how businesses and economies can tackle their greatest social challenges. She helps corporations, governments, and organizations reframe stubborn problems—gender inequality, corporate governance, stakeholder trade-offs—as innovation opportunities that drive lasting transformation.

She is author of several books including the forthcoming Products for the People (W.W. Norton) and is a regular keynote speaker on topics such as inclusive innovation, board diversity, organizational change, board governance, women’s leadership, meritocracy and corporate purpose for clients around the world. She has been recognized and awarded for her ability to bridge rigorous scholarly research with practical insights for leadership and was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women.

  • women with gray hair and dark framed glasses smiling while being filmed by two men with a video camera, flim clap board in the foreground

    Sometimes, They Just Can’t Handle the Truth

    This researcher knows, in the pursuit of gender equality, there are rarely easy and straightforward answers. Nevertheless, she persists. Read more.

  • woman with gray hair, light skin, glasses with dark frames superimposed on NOW podcast logo

    The myth of meritocracy

    We often hear that workplaces are meritocratic. But if that was true, would white women and people of color still be earning so much less than men? Would those board rooms be quite so male? Sarah Kaplan speaks to the National Organization for Women’s Feminism NOW podcast. Listen here.

  • sarah kaplan with gray hair and glasses sitting in a library-style room gesturing with her hands as she speaks

    ‘Flipping the Script’ To Harness Gender Diversity

    Any company that is not moving toward better representation is going to find themselves behind—not just in terms of pressure from stakeholders but also in terms of the products and services they offer. Watch here.

  • Sarah Kaplan, light skin, gray hair, glasses with dark frames in an office with books in the background

    Gender Inequality Goes Far Beyond Our Brains

    Our cognitive biases play a role in ongoing inequality, but it’s also woven into our systems in ways we’re still disentangling. Watch here.

  • abstract image that looks like a computer chip

    AI bias must move to accountability to address inequity

    Policies should require ChatGPT and other AI to assess equity impacts and risks, and demand transparency about design and data disparities. Read here.

  • 3 images of sarah kaplan, a light-skinned woman with gray hair

    What motivated me to create the Institute for Gender and the Economy (GATE)

    Hear why I think we can use rigorous research to change the conversation on gender equality. Watch here.

  • Teddy bear in bed on the cover of Corporate Knights magazine

    How the caring economy can revive us

    Economic policy-making has stripped out caring from our understanding of what makes the economy tick. Caring – for children, for elders, for the planet – isn’t a distraction from the main attraction. We can’t “get back to normal”; we need to create a better normal. Read more.