WLP's partner organization in Morocco, Democratic Association of Moroccan Women (ADFM), trained 20 women educators from around the globe on leadership skills at Education International's World Women's Conference in Marrakech in February 2018. This annual conference connects women educators from 396 federations in 171 countries to share ideas and experiences that will lead to greater female representation at the highest levels of leadership in the education sector.
ADFM facilitators Nezha Belkachla and Maria Ezzaouini guided a session titled "Boosting Women's Leadership" using WLP’s core leadership manual, Leading to Choices. Participants were briefed on how this manual can be used to build the capacity of women in education unions, allowing them to climb the management ladder and “break the glass ceiling” through effective, horizontal leadership.
As is the case in many professional fields, women in education are underrepresented in top leadership positions, despite making up a significant portion of the workforce. This year's conference theme --"Finding a Way through 'the Labyrinth': Women, Education, Unions and Leadership"—reflected the importance of equal leadership within unions. According to a survey by Education International, the number of female general secretaries and presidents within education unions decreased between 2010 and 2014.
ADFM’s Nezha Belkachla was pleased with the positive response from training participants, who expressed interest in the format of WLP’s leadership workshops. “I explained how the WLP capacity building program on leadership targets advocacy on local and national issues, as well as world campaigns,” she said. “WLP Partners fine-tune the content of the manual to respond to their communities' needs and issues.”
Building on the success of this event, WLP and Educational International plan to collaborate on ways to reduce harmful gender stereotypes in classrooms and promote women and girl’s leadership within school settings.