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.

by Micky Dominguez   @micky_dominguez

 Martes, 9.30 de la noche, cuando ya el día parece llegar a su fin. Me siento en mi escritorio, delante del papel y el lápiz y me pregunto: ¿qué me convirtió en un #HeforShe? ¿Qué me hace defender y reivindicar la igualdad entre géneros?

Cualquiera que haya sentido en su vida cualquier tipo de discriminación, ya sea por su género, su procedencia o sus preferencias de vida, sabe perfectamente cómo se siente una persona a la que le cierran puertas o valoran sus iniciativas desde una perspectiva de género.

by Nicola Mooney @nicksnook

This is a short reflective blog on why standing together is important.

One year ago today I received this message:

by MaireadMhigUaid @MaireadMhigUaid

For almost a quarter of a century, I have worked in the Irish Medium education sector in the north of Ireland/Northern Ireland. An immersion education system established here just over 50 years ago, it has doubled in size across each phase in the last 15 years to almost 7,000 pupils . Recommendations for development in 2008 by the Department of Education for Northern Ireland have seen limited progression. The sector is small and education here is a devolved issue.

by Lisa Hannay @lhannay1

Shirley Chisholm was the first black woman to be elected to congress and was a formidable force for women’s rights, equal rights as well as a voice for minorities and for those who did not have anyone speaking on their behalf.

Shirley coined the phrase well used today, 'If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair'.

by Jackie Hill @hill1_jackie

Losing your voice

“I’ve lost my voice - again” – it kept happening for 2 years. At first, it was funny (sort of) but that changed, as it could take weeks for it to return fully. I tried different treatments, but nothing worked permanently. 

My GP said the best treatment was simply not to talk!! Well, I found that practically impossible...! I learned just how dependent I am on my voice and how, without it, I felt disempowered and left out.