More perspectives, richer learning experiences

This year has seen a new Professional Growth Initiative at Trinity. Four events, spread across each term, designed to focus on the experience of women educators in boys’ schools. The first event, in Term 1, focused on the experiences of female teachers in an all-boys’ school. 

The latest panel discussion happened over breakfast, with the opportunity to hear from women in various leadership roles across Trinity’s campuses. The discussion was once again led by Dr Kimberley Pressick-Kilborn, Head of Research and Professional Growth, as she invited each of the panellists to speak to the joys, challenges, and opportunities of being a woman in leadership, particularly in the context of a boys’ school. 

The first hurdle, and one that the panellists agreed upon, is that women often experience imposter syndrome, regardless of the context in which they are leading. 

Ms Kat O’Malley, Deputy Head of the Junior School, spoke to this experience saying that replacing a beloved deputy felt as though she could never live up to expectations. 

“I hadn’t been a deputy before,” she said. “I replaced a man who had been here a long time and was really well respected. He had done his whole life at Trinity. I suppose at the beginning it was imposter syndrome and this sense of ‘I have no idea what I’m doing’.

“But I was constantly reminded by Head of the Junior School, Mark [Dunn]: ‘You’re in this seat for a reason’, and that was really affirming for me.” 

At Trinity, women in leadership often face another challenge: the very fact that they are women is an immediate, visible difference that comes with perceived drawbacks. 

Aside from the stereotypes that can float around any workplace, at Trinity, this fact means that they are not Old Boys, embedded in the Trinity tradition. Ms Nadia Nero, Head of Trinity’s Middle School, says that it’s something women at Trinity and the wider Trinity community just need to move on from. 

“The reality is that we will never be an Old Boy. That’s something that I keep saying to myself. We’re not male, we haven’t had the same experiences, but what we do bring is a new perspective.

“There is a place for women to help educate young men around things like respect, there is a place for us to teach boys what’s important in the process of growing good men.” 

Ms Fiona Evans, Head of Curriculum at Trinity’s Preparatory School agrees, noting that her role in shaping the curriculum means that topics that might otherwise be overlooked can be included. 

“We include big ticket events like International Women’s Day, but also seeing boys go through the Preparatory School and be able to choose to look into gender issues in the PYP. 

“By changing things we can open up boys to different experiences and different perspectives.”  

Ms Leah Arthur, Field Studies Academic Program Co-ordinator, says that getting hung up on gender is to no one’s benefit. 

“We just concentrate on what do we need to do and how do we need to move forward? And that by its very essence, helps things to go well. 

“There’s a privilege in boys just seeing and experiencing leadership from both males and females in the residential space, that isn’t adversarial and it’s not riddled with conflict and it’s not riddled with ego.” 

Ms Debbie Williams, Deputy Headmaster – Academic, says that there is a lot to be said for having diverse role models. 

“Young men … it’s a really complex landscape at the moment for them. I think there is a real reward in the opportunity to contribute positively to a complex landscape and to work with other like-minded leaders – men and women – and with the boys themselves. I think there’s great positivity in the boys having a range of different role models and different people to work with.” 

She says that juggling family and leadership can be tricky – a sentiment echoed across the panel. 

“You have to be really deliberate in evaluating the opportunities that come up and what that will mean for all the people in your family. But be confident that the right opportunities will come at the right time. You don’t have to take the first one that presents itself. They will keep coming, if you believe in what you’re doing and you have your values clearly sorted.” 

Getting firm on your values is something that Ms Phillippa Lowe, Head of Advancement, agrees is essential for women in leadership. 

“If you’ve never done the exercise of distilling down your top three values, it’s a really useful one. But more than that, what do you do when you’re leading teams that don’t share those values, and how do you behave when your values buttons are being pushed?” 

Ms Evans says that an important part of leading is being able to call on colleagues for support when something isn’t right. 

“Rather than feeling frustrated by things or sitting on things, I now actually call on male colleagues and I just say ‘I need you to be an ally on this’, because I’ve realised a fair amount of the time, guys don’t know what to do, they just stay quiet and that’s not helpful. They’re kind of happy to step up to the party at that point, but they don’t necessarily know what to do or how to be an ally. Whereas giving kind of direct instructions helps them and it moves the situation forward.” 

Ms Arthur agreed, saying that male staff members can either jump in to try to fix, or step back and ignore, but neither approach is helpful. 

“Now they’re actually asking what needs to be done, what we would like them to do … it’s been a really nice change and a nice conversation to have.” 

Ms O’Malley says that while she will always do things differently – like needing a microphone to speak to students in big groups – she sees it as an opportunity to see different ways of doing things, rather than a weakness. 

“Take the microphone from me,” she says to her male colleagues. “Use it as well! Don’t make it look like it’s something that I can’t do.” 

Staff are now looking towards Term 4’s discussion circle, hosted on each campus where readings, podcasts, and other research-informed stimuli will spark conversation.