#WomenEd Blogs

by Denise Freeman @geography_DAF Recently, I took on a leadership role that has really pushed me out of my comfort zone. I began a journey that has already taught me so much and forced me to reflect on so many things that I do, including the way I use language and the words I use. It has become much more habitual to think about my language, to cons...

by Avani Higgins @avani_higgins As a child I wanted to have blond hair, blue eyes and be called Anne. It's not surprising, and let me tell you why. Growing up in the '60s in Uganda, I remember sitting in the back of my Dad's Cortina and driving past a leisure club. It was tantalising: a crystal clear blue swimming pool and red clay courts fringed w...

by Bukky Yusuf @rondelle10_b An unconference is 'a gathering that tries to avoid hierarchical aspects of a conventional conference, such as sponsored presentations and top-down organization.' I have attended many of the #WomenEd unconferences both virtually and in person since the very first one in 2015. When I think back to the very first one and ...

by Kathryn Taylor MEd FCCT @super_KAT1 I appreciate the irony that I'm writing this on a Sunday evening, having spent my Saturday at the #WomenEd Global Unconference.  But you don't need to work silly hours just because I do, and nor should anyone feel obliged to.  I'm really concerned about the state of education, and you should be too. ...

by Yamina Bibi @mysbibi My speech for the #WomenEd Global Unconference 2023 Leadership, particularly Educational Leadership is challenging, complex yet rewarding.  Let's be honest though: it's harder when you look like me. Let me tell you a bit about me. I'm a visibly Muslim woman; I'm British Bangladeshi, I love my family and food, I enjoy re...

by Lulu Oragano  @LuluOragano

Jan: So, I was being serious when I asked- do you want to job share?

Me: Yes, I would love to.

Jan: Let’s do it.

And so we did….

I was the Head of Drama in a Secondary school in South London and Jan was the Head of Visual and Performing Arts. Having returned from her maternity leave she had requested to work part-time, wanting the benefits of keeping her senior middle leader role, whilst also spending time with her new baby.

by Lulu Oragano @LuluOragano

Senior Leader: Welcome back, I’ve put your timetable on your desk.

Me: Oh thanks. Oh, but I’m teaching Citizenship?

Senior Leader: Yeah, you’re brilliant, you can teach anything.

Meant as compliment, very few teachers deliberately want a woman returning from having a baby to feel unwelcome, undervalued or side-lined in anyway, but it may happen without realising.

By Sarah Moya  @SarahMoya After nearly twenty years of working in education, I find it is difficult to pinpoint where and how my experiences as a female professional differ from my male counterparts when it comes to career progression. Indeed, the subjective nature of my experiences, coupled with the suspicion that to raise them in the workpla...

By Lindsay Patience     @mumsyme Flexible Teacher Talent recently asked in a Twitter poll how part-time TLRs (Teaching and Learning Responsibility) worked. I was shocked to find again that a large proportion of teachers are not being paid properly for their management responsibilities. 54% said they were responsible for the whole rol...

By Salina Ventress     @salinaventress This week my youngest turns three, and it feels monumental. If, like me, you're a school leader or teacher and celebrate a 3 year old's birthday this March, congratulations; we made it. We've all been part of a club we never asked to join, where 'lockdown baby' became everyday vocabulary, and th...

by Vivienne Porritt @ViviennePorritt

We started WomenEd because women's voices on twitter were often silenced, harrassed or our views were not valued. It's one of the reasons we included a mic in our logo. So we encouraged women to tweet and to write blogs to tell our stories and share our lived experience. 

One of the reasons we wrote 10%braver: Inspiring Women to Lead Education was to ensure the voices of our community reached women who are not on twitter. And over 30 voices are included in Being 10% Braver which, joyously, is published this December - you can pre-order and it's a great Christmas present! And we are delighted to share more opportunities for our community to write and to be heard.

by Frances Akinde @frankietweetart I have become fascinated with the increasing use of AI platforms and how this can be applied to Education. Jasper AI is an artificial intelligence (AI) platform that allows users to create virtual assistants and automate processes. It can be used to create an AI-powered assistant to help with tasks, such as schedu...

By Bukky Yusuf @rondelle10_b    LinkedIn When it comes to certain aspects of #EdTech (learning platform upgrades, immersive learning tools, AI and machine based learning), changes can happen so rapidly. Yet, consistent 'thorny issues' remain relatively unchanged. 'The Missing Voices in EdTech: Bringing Diversity Into EdTech' by Rafra...

By Lindsay Patience @Mumsyme As I approach the birth of my third child, it seems a good time to reflect on how things have changed with regard to flexible working in the education sector since I was expecting my first child in 2016. Before I was pregnant for the first time, I was working full time on the SLT in a large comprehensive school in ...

by Tracey O'Brien  @tob22 In an attempt to fill in less paperwork and do something with much more purpose, more interesting, and more insightful instead, I've thought about all the monitoring and review activities that we carry out in schools.  It's all too much. Too much top-down accountability, monitoring instead of trust, review for th...