Dr. Paula Stone Williams is an internationally known speaker on gender equity, LGBTQ advocacy and religious tolerance. As a transgender woman, Paula brings a unique perspective to her work on gender equity. She says, "The differences between living as a man and a woman are massive. There is no way an educated white male can understand how much the culture is tilted in his favor, because it is all he has ever known and all he ever will know." 

Paula, with decades of experience in strategic communications within partisan spaces, skillfully employs narrative communication—a storytelling approach that intimately connects the audience with the conveyed message, fostering enduring change. Whether a corporate meeting, women's conference, company retreat or national gathering, Paula’s unique perspective and skilled storytelling engages everyone as she humbly and effectively advocates for gender equity, LGBTQ rights and appreciation for the differences among us. 

Paula has been the CEO of a large religious non-profit, the editor-at-large of a national magazine, host of a national television show and a corporate consultant. With her doctoral thesis on the DiSC Personality Profile, Paula has led hundreds of corporate boards and work teams to become more efficient and productive. Paula has served as an adjunct university professor in the United States and Europe, and is the author of eight books, including She's My Dad, co-authored with her son, Jonathan.

Paula’s memoir, As a Woman: What I Learned about Power, Sex, and the Patriarchy After I Transitioned (Simon & Schuster), chronicles her transition journey and sheds light on the gendered landscape that impacts many in the LGBTQ+ community and women in the workplace and beyond. Her memoir will be turned into a limited series by Cannonball Productions.

In addition to her public speaking and corporate consulting, she is also a Pastor and Pastoral Counselor in Boulder County, Colorado. Paula has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, TEDWomen, TEDSummit, TEDxMileHigh, Red Table Talk, National Public Radio, Good Morning America, ABC Primetime News, CNN, People Magazine, and many other media outlets. She has been a keynote speaker for hundreds of conferences, corporations, and universities around the world. Her TED Talks have had over nine million views.

Topics:

  • Everyone is talking, but is anyone really listening? In a world increasingly divided by walls of fear, multiple-time TED speaker Paula Stone Williams offers a powerful message of hope and connection. As a transgender woman, national leader, and former pastor, Paula draws on her unique experiences in partisan spaces, giving you the tools to truly listen to those from backgrounds different than yours.

    A journey of self-discovery and empathy through sharing her own story of living as both a man and a woman, Paula sheds light on the complexities of identity and the importance of listening and understanding differences in perspective.

    In this presentation, Paula provides audiences with actionable steps for effective communications:

    - The problem with assumptions: Assumptions are based on our perspective, not on the truth. Be open to the possibilities of your own bias, look at the facts, and continue to educate yourself for a broader worldview.

    - It's not about you: Recognize that humans work from different moral standards. Coming together and hearing each other's stories, proximity and narrative, can explain those differences and narrow the divide between people and groups.

    - Use words without blame and judgment, toward yourself and others: Listen with grace and understanding. Be clear with intentions.

    - Do your best: Speak with integrity, and bring your whole self to the conversation.

    Whether your audience is grappling with issues of diversity and inclusion, seeking to navigate the ever-changing landscape of communicating better across genders or generations, or simply yearning for a deeper understanding of the human experience, Paula's message will foster empathy and better communication across lines of difference.

  • We're living in a polarizing time in which debates over politics and policies related to hot button topics stay at the top of our news coverage. But what if it didn't have to be so polarizing? What if we could change the narrative to provide deeper understanding and help bring us back together? Change has always begun with proximity and narrative. People have the capacity to change their minds about deep-seated beliefs, but only when information comes in a non-threatening way. Broaden horizons, normalize differences, and change the arc of a narrative. In this talk, Paula Stone Williams will use her expertise in narrative communications to unpack the power of storytelling. With proximity to more conservative spaces having worked in religious spaces for decades, Paula understands how to address the both radical topics on both sides of the spectrum with candor, openness and facts—not judgment. She explores her fundamental rules of communication that break down walls and bring unlikely people together. Paula will leave you empowered to take these rules to bridge the growing divide and create lasting change.

  • Are men privileged in ways they do not understand? Do women have to work harder to be seen as leaders? Do men empower each other more than women empower each other? As a transgender woman with a doctorate in counseling, Paula Stone Williams has a unique perspective on how the differences between men and women can affect their everyday life—not only has she counseled in this area, she’s lived it! Based on her first TED talk (over 7 million views), Dr. Paula Stone Williams speaks about her experience living as a male and as a female, talking about how differently she is received as a woman than she was as a man. And yes, life is much harder as a woman.

    With humor and insight, Paula answers these questions and more, using scientific data, an extensive understanding of popular culture, and her experience in both genders to explore the difference between equality and equity. Men will depart with a greater understanding of their own privilege, and the opportunities to make a difference that leverages that privilege. Women will understand the importance of standing up for themselves and working together to bring about change. Both genders will be asked to examine how we bring our privilege with us in all of our interactions.

  • On the path to gender equity in the workplace, mere awareness of the uneven playing field is insufficient. One must understand how these inequalities manifest within each unique environment to actively level it through thoughtful, nontoxic dialogue. As a follow-up to Paula Stone Williams' most requested keynote address on her experience as a transgender woman, this talk delves deeper into the obstacles and opportunities to achieving true workplace parity. How can men be more attuned to the experiences of women and contribute to a more equitable environment? How can women collaborate effectively with men to achieve their professional goals?

    Throughout this session, Paula weaves humorous stories, personal anecdotes, and compelling data to motivate and empower both men and women to become agents of change. Attendees will not only gain insights from Paula's personal journey but also be invited to examine their own lives for subtle and overt instances where we internalize and perpetuate cultural messages, particularly within the workplace. From directly addressing workplace microaggressions to fostering trust and understanding within teams, Paula's unique insights will equip your organization with the tools to demonstrably increase gender equality.

  • In today's hyper-sensitive environment related to sexual identity issues, we can close the divide of misunderstanding by gathering in the same space with those whose perspective is different from ours, listening to their stories, and telling our own stories. By focusing on our commonalities, we are reminded that what we hold in common far exceeds that which separates us. As a transgender woman with a doctorate in counseling, Paula Stone Williams shares her own story utilizing humor and pathos to model for others an environment of grace and curiosity. She provides scientifically factual information, combined with an extensive understanding of popular culture, to increase one's understanding of and ability to work supportively with the LGBTQ+ community.

    In this talk, audiences may learn:

    - Learn what the acronyms LGBTQ+ encompasses and use the terms correctly

    - Become familiar with the vocabulary related to LGBTQ+ individuals.

    - Learn to foster safe environments for individuals to reveal their LGBTQ+ identities.

    - Learn how to avoid making assumptions about gender or partner preference of individuals.

    - Learn to view mistakes as learning opportunities.

    - Discover how to move from being allies to apprentices

    Join Paula on this journey of understanding, where laughter and shared stories remind us that beneath all the labels we are all simply human, connected by our desire for hope and belonging.

  • In this presentation, transgender activist Paula Stone Williams will provide the audience with a basic understanding of what it means to be transgender. She will talk about what gender dysphoria is, and what it is not, including causes of gender dysphoria, suicidal ideation as it relates to gender dysphoria, and why transphobia has become such a political hot button.

Twitter: @paulaswilliams2

If you're a man, at one point or another you've probably thought to yourself, "I will never understand women!" And if you're a woman, "what's wrong with men?!" But your gender is all you've ever known, so how could you understand? As a transgender woman, Paula Stone Williams has lived on both sides, "and the differences are massive!"