Catherine Mayer
Journalist, activist and co-founder and President of the Women’s Equality Party
*Fees are a guide only. Exact cost will be dependent on requirements and are subject to change.
About Catherine Mayer
Catherine’s previous books include Amortality, Attack of the Fifty Foot Women, and the memoir Good Grief. In 2022, Penguin published a substantially updated edition of her bestselling biography of King Charles III, Charles: The Heart of a King. She is a regular ITV contributor on historic royal occasions.
Catherine has held senior editorial roles at The Economist and TIME, where she served as London Bureau Chief, Europe Editor and Editor at Large after 11 years as a foreign correspondent for FOCUS magazine.
She was the founding executive director of data and technology think tank Datum Future, sits on the advisory board of Noon, and works with the Society of Hopeful Technologists.
A respected cultural voice, she has written and performed for the Globe Theatre, was shortlisted for the 2025 Interwoven Poetry Prize, and toured her one-woman show Catherine Mayer: FFS across the UK and Ireland.
Politically engaged throughout her career, she was the lead London candidate for the Women’s Equality Party in the 2019 European elections, served as President of the Foreign Press Association, and sits on the founding committee of WOW – Women of the World Festival. She has judged the Women’s Prize for Fiction and co-curated the 2022 Death Festival.
Her journalism has won the FPA Story of the Year and been shortlisted for the Orwell Prize. She has been recognised among the Top Political Journalists, Progress 1000 Equality Champions, and the Gender Equality Top 100 Most Influential People in Global Policy, and received the NatWest Spirit of Everywoman Award (with Sandi Toksvig).
Following the death of her husband, musician Andy Gill, Catherine completed and released his unfinished projects, acting as executive producer on The Problem of Leisure tribute album and managing his music estate.
To book Keynote Speaker Catherine Mayer, contact The Speakers Agency on +44(0)1332 810481 or email enquiries@thespeakersagency.com
The Future of Media in the Digital Age
During a 30-year career, Catherine saw first-hand how digital technologies initially enabled news organisations to flourish and then destroyed the economic models supporting them. Her forthcoming book on royal women looks at the way public figures are instrumentalised to deepen polarisation and spread disinformation. Catherine discusses and assesses the repercussions not just within the industry but for democracy and our understanding of the world, as well as forecasting developments in new media.
How to Have Conversations in a Polarised World
We are more divided than ever before and not just on subjects that directly touch on our lives. How can we hope to reach consensus in the workplace if we’re passionately polarised on Meghan and Harry or whether cancel culture even exists? Catherine looks at the drivers of such polarisation, unpicks the way that these arguments are often proxies for other issues such as race and inequality, and looks at what works, and what definitely doesn’t, to defuse potential hostilities and bring people together.
Difference Works: Why true diversity and inclusion is about much more than ticking boxes Organisations know they need to improve the diversity of their workforces—but they often don’t know why. Moreover DEI is falling into disrepute, with many programmes being rolled back or disbanded.
Catherine unravels the confusion surrounding diversity initiatives, highlights the dangers of creating echo chambers or cultures that suppress dissident opinions and demonstrates the value of more inclusive cultures.
Wonder Women: How unlocking female potential benefits us all
This addresses some of the key points in the Difference Works keynote, but looking in more detail at the subject of female participation in the economy and the workplace. Why is it that organisations struggle to retain women and how can they improve that record? And, why the rewards of doing so are huge.
Good Grief: navigating personal and public loss in the workplace
There is something much more damaging than saying the wrong thing to the newly bereaved—saying nothing at all. Not that there’s much value to mumbled platitudes or ill-timed expressions of sympathy (grieving people often seek a semblance of normality at work and may not wish to be forced to answer questions about how they’re feeling). Luckily, such mistakes are easy to avoid. Catherine talks about what she’s learned from dealing with the bereaved and from her own widowhood and other losses.
Inside the Royal Family
Catherine spent decades covering the royals, including two years behind the scenes researching her biography of King Charles and a further two years examining the misrepresenation of royal women from Anne Boleyn to Meghan. She gives insights and tells anecdotes from the strange world she dubs “Planet Windsor” and also highlights the surprisingly pervasive influence of the royals on public life.
Client Feedback
"Catherine was an absolutely fabulous addition on the night – razor sharp, great sense of humour, real and extremely engaging. She is right at the top of her game and therefore able to be challenging but without alienating the audience."
"As a result of Catherine being on the panel, we were able to create the level, strength and quality of debate we really aspired to – and have an enjoyable, fun evening along the way. The feedback from our guests was that she had taken our panel to a new level."
"Very inspiring and engaging...we liked the way she spoke from the heart and gave her personal story. She sets a tone of openness and trust which was exactly what the session needed."
