Women school principals are likely to play a central role in shaping the school environment. They can have a substantial impact on various aspects, from teacher performance to parental engagement and student motivation. However, despite these significant aspects, it is striking to note that the influence of the gender of school leadership remains understudied. This gap contrasts with the many pieces of evidence of the positive impact of female leadership in other fields, such as health, politics, and business.

This panel provided a valuable opportunity to introduce a recent study on women in leadership positions within education. Cécile Giraud, Gender Education analyst at IIEP-UNESCO, introduced the discussion by presenting the results of the Will Study. She highlighted the skills and characteristics of female school leaders that have a direct impact on improving learning.

Appointed as GCI's Focal Point in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, she played a crucial role in arranging two training sessions on gender-responsive planning and management for education officers. These sessions, alongside other capacity development activities, fortified personnel with key skills to advance gender equality within the education sector.

In the Gender at the Centre Initiative framework, IIEP facilitates the activities of the Community of Practice in Gender and Education (CPGE), with the ultimate goal of strengthening a network of African gender-responsive practitioners in the domain of educational planning and management.

The CPGE-EN 2022 residential workshop will take place in Dakar, Senegal, from October 10th to 14th, 2022, with the following specific objectives :

The Ministry of National Education and Civic Promotion (MENPC) of the Republic of Chad, a member of the Gender at the Center Initiative (GCI),  requested IIEP's technical capacity-building support to integrate gender equality issues into education policies.

In addition, as part of the new GPE funding model, the Government of Chad is preparing its Partnership Pact, a sector-wide document that will articulate a priority gender-sensitive reform that GPE and technical and financial partner funding will support over the next five years.

Good practices praised

In Burkina Faso, significant efforts have been made over the past ten years to promote gender equality and equity in education. This political will has been reflected in a National Strategy for Accelerating Girls' Education for the period 2011-2021 and the current National Gender Strategy for 2020-2024.