Fionnuala Kennedy
Head
3 March 2025
March 8th sees us celebrating one of my favourite days of the year: International Women’s Day.
I know it might feel at Wimbledon High that we celebrate girls and women every day, so why is this particular day so important?
Well, it’s where feminists across the globe join forces to express their fervent belief that women should have equality, in every sphere of their life, in every country of the world. And this year the theme is Accelerate Action, which I take to mean: we can’t just sit and talk about gender equity, we have to get out there and make it happen. As one of my utter heroes, Gloria Steinem, put it: “The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.”
The IWD website tells us:
At the current rate of progress, it will take until 2158, which is roughly five generations from now, to reach full gender parity, according to data from the World Economic Forum.
Focusing on the need to Accelerate Action emphasizes the importance of taking swift and decisive steps to achieve gender equality. It calls for increased momentum and urgency in addressing the systemic barriers and biases that women face, both in personal and professional spheres. So, together, let’s Accelerate Action to speed up the rate of progress worldwide.
It can feel when we’re at school, unable to vote or to agitate as we might as an adult, that we are impotent. So how can we begin, right now, to accelerate action whether we’re in Year 7 or Year 13, whether we’re male or female, whether we feel we are powerful or otherwise?
Well, as individuals, we can all take steps in our daily lives to positively impact women’s advancement.
We can call out stereotypes, challenge discrimination, question bias, celebrate women’s success, and so much more. Additionally, sharing our knowledge and encouragement with others is key.
And here at school, there are lots of ways to get involved. Our ground-breaking work with HMP Downview women’s prison, where we support inmates with gifts of essentials and other presents, write letters and cards, and learn about the justice system for women, is a key part of our taking actual action in order to make a difference. We are also working alongside their education department to help improve progress and outcomes for women as they look to reengage with their lives after release. This work is led Miss Menhinick, Ms Paraska and some of our brilliant students who are committed to learning more about social justice, and to considering the plight of all girls and women, not just those deemed worthy and acceptable. Last time we visited, we were told that the vast majority of the women were in prison because of their treatment by men, and because of the lack of societal structures in place to support, protect and elevate women from lower socio-economic communities. It couldn’t be more important that we set this right.
We also heard this week from our WOW club, Women of Wimbledon, who meet weekly to discuss issues affecting girls and women globally, and support various campaigns to make life better for those girls and women. As part of #IWD they will be organising our annual Mad for Padz collection, where girls bring in sanitary products to donate to local women’s shelters and charities.
I am proud of our community’s awareness of and response to injustice on a broad scale. Our young people are curious and fair-minded, aware of the plight of others but also aware of their own capacity to effect change. We must be unrelenting in our commitment to accelerating action on behalf of those less able to help themselves, or to help others.