Before the workshop, I felt that the leadership of women was almost impossible. And if it was, it was only possible for those with money and connections. When I participated in the workshop, I realized that every woman, regardless of external circumstances, can become a leader in her life—can address social issues, can help other people, can lead people. It changed how I look at myself. I was inspired by the stories about women from America, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt. I found I wanted to help not only myself, but also others.
Promoting Leadership
Women are the single most underutilized resource in the world.
WLP’s workshops and training resources help women to discover their capacity to lead and the benefits women’s leadership brings to their communities.
Program Highlights
Leadership curriculum in 20+ languages
300,000+ women trained in 50 countries
Thousands of workshops replicated by WLP trainees in their communities
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WLP is empowering women to take on leadership roles in their families and communities. We are striving for a quantitative change in the number of women in formal leadership roles, and a qualitative change in the type of leadership women exercise. We believe in leadership that is participatory, horizontal, and dialogue-based, and which encourages sharing power and respect. Participatory leadership is integral to all of WLP’s trainings, advocacy, and partnerships, and human rights campaigns.
Leading to Choices has been translated into over 20 languages and used in over 50 countries by women’s organizations promoting women’s empowerment.
Curriculum on Leadership
WLP’s foundational leadership curriculum Leading to Choices has been translated into multiple languages and is used in education and training programs all over the world. Created in collaboration with our partners, the culture-specific leadership curriculum is designed to be adapted for different needs and different constituencies. Currently available in 22 culture-specific editions, it is being used by our partners and dozens of other organizations throughout the Global South. Leading to Choices uses interactive exercises and real-life stories to engage participants in discussions on the issues that are most pressing for them. Through shared learning and role playing, participants practice leadership skills such as effective communication, active listening, demonstrating empathy, reaching consensus, developing a group vision, and implementing an action plan.
- Leading to Choices: A Leadership Training Handbook for Women (manual)
- Leading To Choices: A Multimedia Curriculum for Leadership Learning (videos and guides)
Read more about Leading to Choices.
Grassroots Workshops and Training of Trainers Institutes (TOTs)
WLP conducts hundreds of grassroots leadership workshops and training of trainers institutes (TOTs) every year with our partners, their constituencies, and other stakeholders in the global women’s rights movement. The workshops’ goals are for participants to discover their capacity to lead and to realize the benefits women’s leadership can bring to their home, workplace, and community. We believe that every individual is already a leader in some spheres of her life. The workshops capitalize on participants’ innate strengths, increasing their confidence and skills. Upon completion, participants go on to join community projects, organize local advocacy campaigns, launch associations, and in other ways take action for positive change. Many become workshop facilitators themselves.
Mentoring Emerging Leaders
WLP encourages new generations of leaders to join and thrive in the women’s rights movement by creating spaces for mentoring. At our annual partners’ meeting and at events for women and youth throughout the Global South, we promote the exchange of ideas and support between grassroots women and more experienced leaders. We facilitate peer-to-peer mentoring among individuals and organizations who share language and/or come from communities with similar cultures. And we offer training and technical support to our partner organizations in their advocacy work, as well as provide leadership training for youth.
Testimonials
Participating in the leadership discussion, there emerged the possibility for me to express my own opinion, bring to people my point of view, and evaluate my leadership skills. I learned what problems female leaders from other countries have, how they solve them, and to whom one can turn to for help. I gained much useful information and great inspiration. Women joining together can achieve everything!
–WLP Youth Leadership Workshop participant (Sayram, Kazakhstan)
I learned advocacy and negotiation skills [in the leadership training], as well as found the confidence to take a stand. The workshop helped me take the lead in decision-making at home. The training [increased] my ability to make collective decisions, and benefitted my family members and relatives who now seek my guidance on domestic issues.
–WLP Leadership Workshop participant (Beirut, Lebanon)
I have learned that having a connection with the community is vital to raising our collective voice. I have become more active in journalists’ welfare issues, and events relating to the media. The result is that [I now have] more recognition in the community. I was invited to be a speaker at different forums and television programs to talk about issues facing women journalists and [all] the violations of the rights of people working in the media in Pakistan.
–WLP Training of Trainers participant (Nathia Gali, Pakistan)