Why women and girls need to lead for a better world

From access to education, to making decisions about their own bodies or responding to climate impacts, women’s lived experience of inequality makes them experts on their lives. They know what needs to change, how this change should occur and are equipped to lead it. Here are some reflections from our Community Campaigners on why and how women should lead change in an increasingly volatile climate.

"Leadership doesn’t begin in boardrooms, it starts in villages and neighbourhoods"

For real change to happen, leadership must start at the grassroots level and women are central to this.

In communities across the world, women are already leading quietly yet powerfully, from mobilising neighbours during crises to driving solutions for education, healthcare, and social justice. But structural and systemic barriers mean their leadership often goes unrecognised. 

Building an individual's sense of power - power within - means women have the confidence to recognise they are leaders. Too often, cultural norms, gender bias, and systemic barriers make women question their own abilities. Yet, when women at the grassroots level are represented in decision-making spaces, are valued and listened to, they ignite transformative change that ripples far beyond their immediate communities. 

As well and being part of ActionAid UK's Community Campaigner network, I have set up my own initiative, HerLead, so I've seen first-hand when women are supported with resources and mentorship, they rise to break barriers, build movements, and shift narratives.

Women who once doubted their voices are now driving impactful projects that challenge inequality, improve education, and address social injustices. 
 
The world doesn’t just need women in leadership, it needs women leading confidently from the ground up. Transformative leadership doesn’t begin in boardrooms, it starts in villages, neighbourhoods, and local networks where women are closest to the issues and best placed to drive change. 

Funding and supporting grassroots women leaders isn’t just the right thing to do it’s the smartest strategy for building a more just and equitable world.

Now more than ever, we must nurture these voices, amplify their efforts, and watch as they create waves of lasting impact. 

Mercy, 29, Gloucester.

"We must bring other knowledge to the table"

‘Knowledge is power’ is an interesting concept. If this were true, how is it that everyone has knowledge of different things and yet power continues to be unequal across the world?

Women’s knowledge is widely undervalued, and the knowledge of adolescent girls is valued even less. Yet, despite the impacts of gender inequality, women and girls challenge patriarchy and resist colonial forms of knowledge daily. This shows that we must bring other knowledge forms to the table, and women's and girls’ leadership is critical in this.  

We are facing global crises such as the ‘war on women’ in US politics, the gender-based violence pandemic, climate change and the widespread political shift towards the far-right. We have the fundamental right to make meaningful decisions about our lives especially if a decision will impact us. 

Challenging harmful gender norms is a positive step in the right direction. But there is much more that can be done to promote women's and girls' leadership and recognise the lived experiences of some of the most marginalised is a form of knowledge. I hope that women's and girls’ leadership can diversify the concept of ‘knowledge is power’ and in turn, diversify power itself. 

Amy, 21, Portsmouth.

"The world cries out for healing"

In the past, where leadership has been defined under patriarchy, it has too often been equated with power imbalance and domination.   

But by taking back and rebalancing this power, women and girls around the world are modelling a different type of leadership - leadership as an inclusive practice, leadership from a place of compassion and empathy, leadership with, rather than domination over.  
 
Inclusive and feminist leadership builds on a strong sense of our power within, sees people as human beings not objects, and looks for connection and commonality, bringing people together to find solutions.  

This is why women's and girls' leadership is needed now more than ever, in a world where selfish individuality too often triumphs at the expense of collective humanity. 

We want and need to redefine and embody inclusive leadership, to recreate and restore the balance so badly needed in the face of man-made crises - war, gender-based violence, climate devastation.  

The world cries out for healing, and women are stepping up and redefining what it means to lead humanity and the world towards greater justice. From leading global organisations to advocating in conversation with friends and family, to marching together in solidarity -  women’s leadership is changing the world for the better.

Frances, 48, Worcester.

"Why are we not listening to the voices who have the most to say?"

When climate disasters hit, women and girls are disproportionately affected.

The UN estimates that women and girls make up 80% of people displaced by the impacts of climate change and are 14 times more likely than men to die in extreme weather disasters. There are also other impacts such as on their health, increased care responsibilities and gender-based violence. 

But, it is also women who are the first to respond, recover and rebuild during crises, as they know what their communities need.

Also, indigenous women and farmers already have the knowledge and skills to practise sustainable agriculture that helps prevent climate disasters but are overlooked in favour of large-scale, destructive agribusinesses.

Not only will women-led sustainable farming help slow the scale of the climate crisis, but it will also protect the rights and livelihoods of local communities adversely affected by harmful industrial agriculture.   

Women and girls are uniquely situated to deal with the climate crisis, and it is vital that they take the lead in developing solutions for long-term resilience.

Why are we not listening to the voices who have the most to say? 

Miranda, 22, Hertfordshire.