UK-Kenya Partnership: Advancing Intersectional Gender Equality through International Collaboration
Advancing Gender Equality Through International Collaboration
Over the past year, University of Manchester and the Centre for Innovative Leadership and Governance have been leading a powerful UK–Kenya partnership focused on advancing intersectional gender equality and strengthening senior women’s leadership across higher education.
Through the British Council’s Going Global Gender Equality Partnerships grant and productive partnerships with JKUAT, KCA, KUTRRH and Daystar, we have co-created and delivered the Women’s Strategic Leadership Programme, reaching more than 1,000 people and supporting 24 senior women leaders across five Kenyan institutions and the University of Manchester.
Delivering on Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG5)
Taking an intersectional approach that recognises the diverse factors shaping women’s leadership experiences, the programme has spanned online masterclasses, immersive leadership retreats in Manchester and Nairobi, a global Gender Equality and Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG5) Symposium, fostering international collaboration.
The partnership has made a meaningful contribution to SDG5, the UN’s commitment to achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls by addressing discrimination, enhancing leadership representation and expanding equitable opportunities.
Impact
The project has built confidence, visibility and strategic leadership capability, strengthened UK-Kenya institutional relationships, generated impactful research on gendered leadership barriers and created global networks of solidarity spanning 18 countries. Looking forward, this partnership stands as a clear example of how universities can embed social responsibility and equality via global engagement.
Professor Rachel Cowen, University of Manchester Academic Lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (Gender and Sexual Orientation), said; “Advancing equality means moving beyond commitment to action that actively challenges the systems that shape who leads and whose leadership is valued. This partnership has been deeply rewarding, reminding us of the power of transnational collaboration and what becomes possible when women lead together across borders.”