The GYA Women in Science Group co-organised a 22-24 March CIFAR Women in Science Leadership Workshop titled ‘Fostering diverse and inclusive leadership in academia’, which took place as a pre-event to the 2018 Global Gathering of the Next Einstein Forum in Kigali Rwanda. The workshop (see programme here), with participation of GYA Members Ghada Bassioni, Federico Rosei, and Fridah Erastus, started off by harvesting experiences in diverse leadership by an impressive group of experienced women scientists. Speakers included Agnes Binagwahoo, the Vice Chancellor of Rwanda’s University of Global Health Equity who also formerly served as Rwanda’s Minister of Health, Rose Gana Fomban Leke, Emeritus Professor of Immunology and Parasitology and Fellow at the Cameroon Academy of Sciences, and Jennifer Thomson, the President of the Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD). This was followed by a session on leadership models and strategies, as well as exercises to explore one’s own personality to identify possible pathways to leadership roles. Former AAAS President Geri Richmond facilitated classes on negotiating skills and networking. At the conclusion of the workshop, the more than 30 women and men had not only strengthened their individual (co-)leadership skills but also extended their respective personal networks with other workshop participants and a special emphasis on diverse and inclusive perspectives on driving forward one’s academic career.
