WomenEd Blogs
by Cara Carey @CaraCarey20
I’ve always been very career focused and loved my job as a teacher. In fact, I remember one colleague expressing surprise at my pregnancy as she thought I was more of a ‘career woman’… as if you could only be one or the other. But I’d known that I wanted children for as long as I could remember. I’d progressed to middle leadership fairly quickly, and at 30 when I fell pregnant with my first child, I was in my first year as Head of Sixth Form.
by Victoria O'Farrell @vjofarrell #WorldMenopauseDay
We were in a queue at Universal Studios in LA, (yes LA ,California! Trip of a life time and all that!) when I said ‘I’ve got to go!’ With blood streaming down my legs and filling up my denim shorts, I locked myself in a toilet cubicle in shame. I tidied myself up, tears welling up. ‘What the hell is going on? I’ve just finished my period and now this, blood, thick clots, so much blood!’.
by Meera Chudasama @MeeraChudasama @innovatejournal
Whilst the global unconference came and went, the spirit of WomenEd was strengthenedan. Transfixed with each presenter's ideas, inspiration and intrigue of our place in education and I was astonished momentarily that a space like this was not valued by all.
by Kathleen Cushnie @VoicingEd
Do you take time to reflect on your growth and achievements? Are you recognising support from others? Who do you need to voice gratitude to?
Recently, I noticed that I hadn’t taken the time to acknowledge my achievements; instead I was caught up in the continuous journey of development. The value of reflection is underrated. I believe this now as I take time each week to celebrate my growing ‘wins’. Celebrating my small wins allows me to recognise the value in small steps towards a goal. Writing this down in a journal is even more rewarding as you can go back at a later stage and reflect on your growth.
by Jo Pellereau @PhysicsJo
I am blessed to have two wonderful children, both the result of gruelling IVF procedures and following pregnancies dotted with the stress of hyperemesis, blood loss and a bout of post natal depression following the birth of my second child. The impact on my wellbeing and the toll it took at work is my primary motivation for undertaking a PhD in Education looking at fertility issues and how schools handle them.
Despite these challenges, at no point in the past almost 4 years have I considered my career to be over or even paused. It has taken a different direction than I thought, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have importance to me or to my sense of identity. In fact in many ways my commitment to education has been increased by my new identity as a mother.
by Vikki Pendry @VictoriaPendry1
This was my first WomenEd conference and my first unconference, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect! I was drawn to the range of topics, especially those with an international texture which I felt would add some useful perspectives to improving ‘ways of working’ and community building. Values of collaboration and connection to inspire change and build confidence oozed out of every session! This was particularly helpful to experience as a newcomer.
by Emma Turner @Emma_Turner75
Flexible working needs modelling at all levels of responsibility, and if we are to avoid so-ing, then leaders have a duty to analyse who their flexible workers are and to see if they are representative of all levels, pay grades and responsibilities across their organisations. If we are to see flex as a realistic and aspirational model then it needs modelling at all career stages and in all roles. Flexible working should be seen as just that, flexible; it should be seen as a chance to shape, mould and develop existing norms and to innovate. It should not be seen as a second rate option to the premier glory of full time. It should also not be associated with specific levels of responsibility or roles.
by Emma Turner @Emma_Turner75
I am a mother of three small children and I work flexibly, part time, in education. Now read that sentence back.
How many read the word, 'and' but heard or inferred 'so'? How many inferred that I work flexibly because of my children rather than the flexible working setup being seen as separate and unconnected and a proactive rather than a reactive choice? For too long and across too many aspects of our education sector (and our lives) our flexible workers’ choices are attributed a 'so' rather than an 'and. It is almost as if flexible working needs to be excused or explained by being prefaced by a reason for its very existence and accompanied by an unrequested but seemingly necessary apology for not working full time or in a traditional working pattern.
by Isabelle Ercan @IsaErcan04
What a wonderful feeling of togetherness, of sisterhood I was left with at the end of last weekend after the thought-provoking #WomenEd unconference which gives women leaders a voice in education! Women from all over the world (UK, Canada, Middle East, Europe) joined us to discuss the challenges that we all encounter as women to access the leadership ladder in educational settings.
How shocking is it that we, women, 50% of the population, the bulk of the workforce in schools, don’t get into Headships or Leaderships posts as much as men do!
by Biljana Torbakova @btorbakova
This unconference was my first experience of #WomenEd and it was a great one.
Ironically, as I commenced my presentation on Imposter Syndrome, or Imposter Feeling (which for me is a better way to describe these temporary feelings), I felt like an Imposter at that particular moment!
We have so much unlearning ahead of us.