We celebrated this year’s International Women’s Day by focusing on the United Nation’s IWD theme: #CrackingTheCode for Gender Equity.
On Wednesday morning, our Year 10-12 students were joined by students and staff from neighbouring girls’ schools to hear from a panel of inspiring young women who are using technology and entrepreneurial thinking to drive innovation and create more opportunities for women to thrive. A special shout-out to Allie who, as one of our Year 12 students, joined the panel and spoke with great maturity and insight about her journey as a technopreneur.
I believe at St Hilda’s we are closer to cracking the code by fostering an adaptive mindset in our girls. We need young women who seek feedback as fuel to improve; who are confident communicators; who can convey their thinking in a compelling way; and who can identify problems using creativity, innovation, and their initiative to propose authentic solutions. These critical skills can be taught and must be taught if we, as a society, are serious about achieving gender equality.
With content so easily accessible and the rise of search engines and now AI, what is desperately needed is for our next generation to be able to analyse, leverage and apply that knowledge to solve problems. This is what I believe the development of an entrepreneurial education can provide, regardless of one’s chosen career.
As governments and industry leaders identify the critical skills they need for the future, creative problem solvers and critical thinkers are high on the list.
I believe that girls’ schools have an obligation that they simply can’t turn their backs on. Girls need to be engaged in issues that matter to them and can respond through critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, communication, and creativity.
We produced a video this year to celebrate International Women’s Day which you can view below. It showcases the incredible innovations that are being created on our campuses every day. It’s little wonder I have such confidence in our next generation of young women.
Fiona Johnston
Principal
