Award-winning DEI expert and bestselling author empowering leaders to advance women in tech and build stronger, more inclusive workplaces.
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Top rated!Furkan Karayel is an award-winning diversity, equity and inclusion expert, bestselling author and international keynote speaker with a strong focus on inclusive leadership and empowering women in tech. Drawing on more than a decade of experience as a software engineer in global technology companies, she brings a practical business perspective to conversations about workplace inclusion. Her concept of Inclusive Intelligence helps leaders move beyond good intentions and create cultures where diverse talent can contribute, lead and succeed. Through engaging keynotes, Furkan gives organizations practical tools to strengthen inclusion, support women in leadership and unlock the connection between diversity, innovation, engagement and growth.
Furkan Karayel is an internationally recognized keynote speaker, diversity, equity and inclusion expert, bestselling author and advocate for women in leadership. Her work focuses on helping organizations create inclusive workplace cultures where people with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives have the opportunity to contribute and succeed.
A particular focus of Furkan Karayel’s work is empowering women in tech and supporting greater female representation in leadership. Having spent more than a decade working as a software engineer in global technology companies, Furkan understands the technology sector from the inside. She combines that experience with her expertise in diversity, equity and inclusion to address the cultural and leadership challenges that can prevent organizations from making full use of their talent.
Her keynotes help leaders understand how everyday decisions, workplace practices and leadership behaviours influence inclusion. Rather than treating DEI as an isolated initiative, Furkan connects it with wider organizational priorities including innovation, employee engagement, culture and sustainable growth.
Book Furkan Karayel for your event to give leaders and teams a practical perspective on how they can create environments that enable women in tech and other diverse talent to thrive.
Furkan Karayel is the bestselling author of Inclusive Intelligence: How to Be a Role Model for Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace. Her concept of Inclusive Intelligence provides organizations with a practical framework for turning diversity and inclusion ambitions into everyday behaviour and meaningful change.
Furkan brings a results-driven approach to DEI. Her presentations explore how leaders can become stronger role models for inclusion, recognize the impact of their decisions and build workplace environments where different perspectives are heard and valued.
Her keynotes can help audiences:
Furkan’s approach makes complex conversations around inclusion accessible and relevant to business audiences. Senior executives, HR leaders and technology teams leave with ideas they can apply within their own roles and organizations.
Furkan Karayel brings more than a decade of professional experience as a software engineer in global technology companies to her work as a keynote speaker. This background gives her a valuable perspective on the realities of working within the technology industry and enables her to connect DEI with practical organizational challenges.
Her experience also shapes her work around women in tech. Furkan understands how workplace culture, representation and leadership can influence who enters the industry, who progresses and who has the opportunity to take on greater responsibility.
Today, Furkan shares her expertise with international audiences. Her work and Inclusive Intelligence concept have reached audiences across more than 25 cities in 12 countries. She combines strategic insight with practical tools, making her keynotes relevant to organizations that want to create measurable progress rather than simply discuss inclusion.
Her speaking style is designed to engage audiences while giving them concrete ideas they can take back into their working lives. Whether she is speaking to executives, HR professionals or technology teams, Furkan connects inclusion to decisions and behaviours that people can influence directly.
Alongside her speaking and business work, Furkan Karayel lectures on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology. Her role in education allows her to contribute her expertise to conversations about equality and inclusion while helping others develop a deeper understanding of these subjects.
She also serves as a board member of Women for Election, where she advocates for greater female representation in leadership. This involvement reflects the wider focus of her work: helping create environments where more women have the opportunity to participate, influence decisions and lead.
Furkan’s contribution to inclusion and leadership has received multiple recognitions. Her accolades include “Speaker of the Year” as well as awards for Inclusive Leadership and Business Role Modelling.
These different areas of experience give Furkan a broad understanding of the challenges organizations face when seeking to improve representation and inclusion. She brings together perspectives from technology, business, education and leadership to make her presentations both relevant and actionable.
Organizations book Furkan Karayel when they want to move the conversation around diversity and inclusion forward. Her keynotes challenge audiences to consider the role they play in creating inclusive cultures while providing practical tools that can support meaningful change.
With her combination of technology experience, DEI expertise and international speaking experience, Furkan connects inclusion with the realities organizations face every day. She shows how inclusive leadership can support innovation, engagement and growth while creating stronger opportunities for women in tech and diverse talent across an organization.
Furkan’s presentations are particularly relevant for senior leaders, HR professionals and technology teams seeking to strengthen their approach to workplace inclusion. Her message encourages people to take responsibility for the behaviours and decisions that shape organizational culture.
Book Furkan Karayel for your event to inspire a forward-thinking approach to inclusive leadership and help your audience understand how diversity, equity and inclusion can become a meaningful part of organizational performance.
Make inclusion a competitive advantage and give your leaders practical tools to create lasting impact with Furkan Karayel.
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No better woman. Furkan is admired and linked by everyone who knows her. She is a national/international treasure and so well known across Dublin that people know her by her first name alone!
Mairin MurrayTechFoundHer
5 of 5
Must say Furkan Karayel is one of the most interesting and inspirational people I’ve met in a long while. A fantastic ambassador and advocate for diversity and inclusion in Ireland and beyond. If you haven’t yet met Furkan then you should rectify that soonest! Insightful and articulate on a range of topics from D&I, education, start up culture and technology to public speaking.
Adrian WhelanBrown Brothers Harriman
Keynote by Furkan Karayel:
Inclusive Intelligence is the meeting point of Emotional Intelligence and Inclusive Leadership. Its methodology is based on a series of interviews and years of detailed research conducted with team leaders and managers in a variety of global companies and the Inclusive Intelligence book. This session will equip the participants with the skills and tools of the Inclusive Intelligence pillars: Self-awareness, empathy, engagement, cultural wisdom, accountability and commitment. It also demonstrates real examples on how to embed inclusion on your daily agenda and become inclusive role models. This session also includes the speakers own stories and experiences working with over 100+ global companies.
Keynote by Furkan Karayel:
This interactive session equips the participants with the tools and resources on how to thrive in a male dominated industry and simple tips every woman can implement to build their professional leadership profile that will move their careers forward effectively. This session also includes the speakers own stories and experiences working with over 100+ global companies.
Keynote by Furkan Karayel:
In this interactive session, Furkan shares stories about what it means to own our authentic self at work and live within our values while contributing to multicultural teams. This session also includes the speaker's own stories and experiences working with over 100+ global companies.
Keynote by Furkan Karayel:
Our language is our authentic identity. In this interactive session, Furkan lets the teams explore their diversity within, and shares stories of effective communication at multilingual teams. This session also includes the speaker's own stories and experiences working with over 100+ global companies.
Keynote by Furkan Karayel:
This interactive session equips the participants with the tools and resources on how to start taking impactful actions for diversity and inclusion, regardless of industry or seniority level (director, manager, team leader or new grad). This session also includes the speakers own stories and experiences working with over 100+ global companies.
Keynote by Furkan Karayel:
This interactive session equips the participants with the tools and resources on how to thrive in a highly male dominated industry “business” and gain the confidence on building your own business despite challenges and biases. This session also includes the speakers own stories and experiences working with over 100+ global companies.
Keynote by Furkan Karayel:
This interactive session starts with the terms and examples of diversity, inclusion, unconscious bias, micro-agressions, cultural intelligence, and cultural wisdom in the workplace context. It also equips the participants with tools and resources on how to behave/lead inclusively in a multicultural team, regardless of industry or seniority level (director, manager, team leader or new grad). This session also includes the speakers own stories and experiences working with over 100+ global companies.
