Reflections on International Women’s Day

International Women's Day on 8^th March is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. It was officially recognised by the United Nations in 1977. (Source from https://www.un.org/en/observances/womens-day/background)

A Message from our Principal Jayne Needham

BSB Shunyi has always been committed in providing a holistic education to all our students and developing every one of them as future leaders regardless of gender, race or other factors.

Our Principal Mrs. Jayne Needham has been a role model in supporting women in the workplace and was often invited as guest speakers by different organisations to share her views about the topic.

Please watch Mrs. Needham’s video above and her message below.

“On International Women’s Day, it is important to reflect that, although we are making strides forward for women in the workplace, we still have a way to go.  If we are to move towards gender equality, we must make sure that our workplace policies and practices support inclusion and diversity. We must challenge unconscious bias, ensuring that every person who is recruited and promoted is the very best for the position, regardless of gender, race or other factors. We must also go beyond this to make sure that everyone feels that they truly belong in our organisations - every day and in every way!

Our corporate response is one aspect, but we must also support and prepare every female to put themselves forward and portray themselves positively and unapologetically, confident that they can fulfil leadership roles.  As a school we have a two-fold responsibility to the young females in our care - to offer excellent role models for leadership in our schools and to prepare them to be leaders of the future.  

As female leaders, we must support and advocate for each other. We must seek, and offer, coaching and mentoring so that we are ready for an equal playing field. As parents, we must promote with our sons and daughters alike that the right person for a role is not down to gender but linked to skills and competencies.

On 8^th March International Women’s Day, I spoke with a group of older students about female leadership at school.  They were uncomfortable when asked to list things that they were really good at.  We must allow the girls in our lives, both daughters and students, to analyse their strengths as well as pin-point their weaknesses, and to practise stating them proudly.  It is not arrogance - it is analytical, reflective and necessary in authentic leadership! 

My main messages to my female students would be to make sure they are prepared to speak up, with confidence, about their strengths, and to support and advocate for each other. In the future, there may not be female leaders at all, just a variety of authentic leaders bringing their own strengths and building diverse and effective teams around them. We can all make a difference in making that happen.”

At BSB Shunyi, we are proud of our English curriculum and how we develop our students' love of reading and writing in a variety of creative, collaborative, and innovative ways. Please also see an article written by Year 8 Noella who’s participating in our Secondary Newspaper Co-Curricular Activities (CCA).

The Greatest Woman in the World

By Year 8 Noella Kim

“Do you care about the Earth? Do you worry about climate change? If you do, then do you do anything about it? Like recycling, reducing waste and taking action to protect the environment? For International Women’s Day, the Secondary Newspaper CCA team look at different points-of-view about who is the greatest woman in the world. Of course, there is no such thing, or an award for the “greatest woman”, and you might not agree with me. 

Greta Thunberg is Swedish and I believe she is the No.1 climate change activist. She’s only 20 years old, however, she made speeches in the United Nations (UN) at the age of 15. She made hundreds of speeches telling people to care about the world, care about our planet and telling the adults to take action before it’s too late. She is extremely famous for her efforts, and hundreds, thousands and millions of people admire her. I am one of them too. She was not a lot older than me when she first made her most “famous” speech in front of the UN, in front of the whole world. 

There are many reasons that I admire Greta Thunberg. Firstly, she is not shy, or scared to speak in public. Secondly, she makes her speech brave and bold. Thirdly, she speaks what she feels is the truth. Maybe we can all learn from her. We can learn from her to take action and to realise that we shouldn’t be afraid.”

At BSB, we promise that each child will leave our school with everything they need for success – whatever they choose to be or do in life.