At a moment in history recognizing Times Up & the #MeToo movement, it has been inspiring to see the accelerated focus and global progress in the call for gender parity. Today for the International Women's Day, we intend to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women in education as well as across other walks of life.
It is of common knowledge that the face of education communities for time immemorial has been that of a woman. However, it is crucial to note that not many leadership positions in the education sector are held by the same gender. As per the GEM Report 2017 by UNESCO, “Women are usually under-represented on school management committees and, where they do hold positions, they tend to be assigned to roles in social affairs or welfare and not to roles involving executive or finance decisions.” In a new Forbes Insights study with Grant Thornton, it is noted that only 24% of senior leadership positions globally are occupied by women, despite this figure reflecting a 3% increase over the last year.
There is still a long way to go – but attitudes are changing. There are more positive examples of women leaders who are inspiring and activating women movements across the world. 50% of young women believe that they will have a better life than women from their parents’ generation (IWD, 2019).
With nearly 55% of the HundrED 2019 innovations being led or founded by women, we, at HundrED, are proud to support women educators, innovators, ambassadors and leaders across the global education community and celebrate them for changing the narrative of what is possible for our children. Just like stories of innovative pedagogies, we believe in sharing stories of our leaders who continue to inspire our team and our work.
As we continue to advocate, and often fight, for gender parity and equal opportunities for women, it is important to surround ourselves with inspiration. Check out these 12 leadership lessons from some of our innovators aka education trailblazers shared especially for the HundrED Community!
Nicole Andreou, Eco-Schools
Kiran Bir Sethi, Design For Change
Kendall Flutey, Banqer
Joanna Rhodes, Challenge 59
Cleary Vaughn-Lee, Global Oneness Project
Kayla Delzer, Flexible Seating
Kehkashan Basu, Green Hope Foundation
Linda Liukas, Hello Ruby
Aline Sara, NaTakallam
Catalina González, LEMA
Lisa Gottfried, New Technology High School
Want to hear more? Meet the rest of our amazing community by joining the HundrED Ambassador program.
