Janet Tarasofsky

Janet Tarasofsky is a business psychologist and founder of Speaking Rights, widely recognised for her work on equality, inclusion and communication at work. She is best known for building a career that bridges commercial leadership and applied psychology, helping organisations address some of their most complex people challenges. As an award-winning speaker, trainer and consultant, Janet has inspired audiences across more than 25 cities, supporting thousands of individuals to speak up, challenge norms and create safer, more inclusive workplaces.

Janet’s early career was spent in senior commercial roles across global consumer brands, where she developed a practical understanding of power, influence and decision-making. She held leadership positions including President and CEO of Adria Aromatherapy, Category Manager at The Body Shop, Marketing Director at Laboratoire Cosmepro, and Product Director at This Works, managing international teams and developing hundreds of products for the health and beauty industry. These formative experiences shaped her fascination with human behaviour at work, particularly whose voices are heard and whose are ignored. Alongside her professional career, Janet built a strong academic foundation, completing an Honours BA in Political Science at Western University before returning to study psychology later in her career.

The turning point came when Janet combined her commercial experience with psychology, earning an MSc in Organisational Psychology from Birkbeck, University of London. Her research focused on employee voice and the ability to challenge norms, themes that now sit at the heart of her work. In 2014, she founded Speaking Rights, a consultancy dedicated to improving equality, inclusion and performance through better communication. Through this work, Janet became known for designing strategic communication plans, internal audits and leadership programmes that deliver measurable change. She later joined Pearn Kandola as a Senior Psychologist, where she advises organisations on inclusive recruitment, psychological safety and behaviour change. Her impact has been recognised through multiple industry accolades, including Best Video for International Women’s Day 2019, reflecting her creative approach to serious workplace issues.

Janet is hired as a keynote speaker because she brings credibility, clarity and energy to conversations many organisations struggle to have. Her talks focus on difficult conversations, speaking up at work, gender equality, inclusive leadership and psychological safety, all grounded in evidence-based practice and real-world experience. Audiences value her practical tools and memorable delivery, which can include creative methods such as rap to unlock honest dialogue. Janet believes progress comes from courageous conversation, and her work consistently helps leaders and teams move from avoidance to action.