6 essential lessons for women leaders

By: Julia Gillard & Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Julia Gillard, the first female prime minister of Australia and patron of Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) alongside Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first African in addition to first woman as World Trade Organization’s (WTO) director-general, delivered a TED Talk while spotlighting the challenges that are encountered by women leaders. Julia expressed her heartfelt journey with the audience about increasing sexism she experienced during her tenure as the PM.

The session included topics like appearance-based judgments and the "glass cliff" phenomenon which serves as challenges for women in leadership roles. Both the speakers, advice women to prepare themselves to confront gender bias in addition to structural changes when taking authority or leadership. Despite knowing all the challenges, they endorsed women to pursue leadership and foster solidarity.

“Don't wait until you need help balancing work and family life or to be fairly evaluated for promotion. Be a supporter of systems and changes that aid gender equality”