Lydia Wilbard is conducting vital research. Her Brookings blog explains why.

NewsPublished on: Aug 29 2024

CAMFED’s Lydia Wilbard has been named a 2024 Echidna Global Scholar and is starting out on a six-month research fellowship at the Brookings Institution.

In a new article about the focus of her studies, Lydia details the challenges that persist for women reaching leadership positions in education. She also highlights the vital importance of scalable interventions, such as CAMFED’s Learner Guide program, to accelerate progress.

CAMFED's Lydia Wilbard investigates the gender imbalance: What is holding women back?

With 10 years of experience working with CAMFED, Lydia (now Executive Director: Learning and Engagement) has seen firsthand the benefits of women taking up leadership positions in schools — including improving retention and learning outcomes, especially for vulnerable girls. This work has motivated her to explore pathways for women to step up into educational leadership roles in Tanzania, where a significant gender imbalance persists.

Lydia’s research aims to deepen our understanding of the complex web of barriers that continue to hold women back from achieving their leadership potential. Her findings will support the work of governments by helping to develop policy recommendations and inform actions to close the gender gap in educational leadership and in education systems as a whole.

Introduce others to Lydia's life story

TUNAINUANA – Together We Rise is a 12-minute film featuring Lydia’s inspiring story and exploring the power of female education to transform our world. Made possible by the Skoll Foundation, the film is directed by Lindsay Branham of Novo Films and created in partnership with CAMFED. Having been an official selection of MOUNTAINFILM 2024, TUNAINUANA is now part of MOUNTAINFILM on Tour and is being shown at various locations across the USA — while Lydia is carrying out her research at the Brookings Institution.

Anyone can claim the screening pack and host a film screening!

Host a film screening

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Read the blog