Virtual learning has increased girls' access to education, but they need confidence and opportunity, experts tell 2021 WISE Summit

Challenges facing girls’ education around the world – including access to learning, enabling girls to assume leadership positions, and societal factors such as early marriage – were explored at the 2021 WISE Summit, with experts stressing the need to find solutions.

In a summit session titled Leading for Change: Lessons from Women Trailblazers, Dr. Asmaa Al-Fadala, Director of Research & Content Development at WISE – pointed to Qatar's focus on educating women and girls, who account for 70 percent of university students in QF. But she also explained that, globally, there is still a gap between the number of female graduates and the number of female leaders.

"One of our studies on empowering women to assume leadership positions showed a discrepancy between the position and the university degree held by girls,” she explained. “We concluded that it is important to develop self-confidence, take advantage of opportunities, not be afraid of facing risks and challenges, as well as identifying the importance of girls being able to resort to role models to enhance their confidence in their abilities.”

Dr. Al-Fadala also emphasized the need to involve learners in the education process, saying: "Education systems must be corrected through reforming and redesigning the educational system as a whole, and enabling learners to participate in decisions about how and what to teach them."

Zuriel Oduwole, a filmmaker, UN Climate Neutral Now Champion, and co-founder of the DUSUSU Foundation – which advocates for girls’ education - highlighted the role of alternative education in equipping girls with the skills that empower them to make decisions, saying: "I organized workshops for more than 180 students from different countries which demonstrated the importance of alternative education.

“Virtual education provides access to content for everyone, and it also has the flexibility that allows girls to learn at any time and place”.

Speaking about the relationship between governments and civil society in the context of girls' education, Oduwole stated his belief that different approaches need to be taken, according to the culture and needs of each country. Some countries, he said, have made progress in reducing the marriage of young girls, while other countries focus on awareness programs about the importance of education.

Jessica Posner Odede, CEO of Girl Effect, which works with nearly 20 million young women in Africa and Asia with the aim of empowering them, explained how the organization uses media and technology to help women and girls access content that enables them to make decisions to build their futures.

And she pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic showed that girls and women had a great ability to resist, saying: "We want to stress the importance of supporting girls' education and enhancing their abilities to find solutions to challenges, because their voices are not heard as It must be, it is time to design a world that works better for girls.”

“With millions of girls out of school due to the pandemic, it is imperative to create alternative opportunities for them by providing them the necessary information through media and technology.”

The session was moderated by Shaheena Janjuha-Jivraj, Associate Professor in Entrepreneurial Leadership and Gender Diversity at HEC Paris in Qatar, a QF partner university.