By Mr Gracie, Deputy Head – Student Engagement and Welfare.
Depending on when you read this blog, I would like to wish you a happy International Women’s Day (IWD)1. It is a privilege to work every day surrounded by intelligent, eloquent and ambitious young women at BGS and to consider how much better our world will be in their hands. I have also grown tremendously working alongside the talented, impressive women on our staff. Since arriving at BGS, I have been challenged in new ways and have been inspired by the care, passion and skill of my colleagues. This is especially true of our amazing pastoral team, whose relentless pursuit of great outcomes for our students is remarkable.
In an environment where the majority of the leadership team and middle leaders are women, and where every influential student role is filled by a young woman, it can be easy to forget why we need International Women’s Day. Every day at BGS is both a celebration of impressive young women and a step towards releasing the next generation of influential female leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators.
As a Geographer, one of the key global issues we examine at GCSE, A Level and IB is the pursuit of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. One of my favourite projects was developing an extension course during Covid focusing on SDG 5: ‘Achieve Gender Equality and empower all women and girls.’2 No doubt I delivered this imperfectly as a man in my 30s, unaware of some real-life impacts, but encountering works such as The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates and Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez was eye-opening. These challenged my understanding of inequality and helped me reflect on the world my wife and daughter experience. I have a long way to go in fully appreciating the extent of gender inequality, but I hope to be an ally and advocate, lifting up the women around me.
This is why I am especially proud of our Head and Deputy Head Girl, who have partnered with senior boys at Bedford School to deliver an assembly for International Women’s Day. Alongside their prefects, they have created engaging form-time resources and a drop-in opportunity to explore this year’s theme, #AccelerateAction. While assemblies and courses lay the foundation for understanding, action is what drives real change. Our Lower Sixth students are currently running campaigns on issues facing women and girls, fighting for positive change. They do this so well because they have seen previous cohorts lead by example, empowering their voices to do good.
Despite examples of progress, recent data shows there is still much to do. The UK has more female doctors than male for the first time3. It was disheartening to read in the press this week about the UK falling to the worst ranking we have had for workplace gender equality in a decade4. Women hold 43% of roles on company boards within the UK’s top firms, yet the number of female CEOs in FTSE 350 companies has dropped from 20 in 2023 to 19 in 2024. In technology, only 26% of the workforce are women, with just 5% in leadership positions. Only 3% of young women consider a tech career as their first choice, and 78% of students cannot name a prominent female figure in the sector. Women make up 48% of gamers but only 2% of game designers. The gender pay gap persists, with women in some industries earning up to 28% less than men in similar roles.
The call to #AccelerateAction is clear. As a girls’ school, BGS is well placed to be part of the solution. Research shows that single-sex education positively influences girls’ academic performance,5 confidence and future trajectories. Girls in single-sex schools show a greater interest in STEM subjects and achieve higher academic attainment6. They are also significantly more likely to study mathematics and science at A Level,7 and the opportunities provided in a girls’ school setting support aspirations and ambition.8
Making the most of the opportunities at BGS is one way to take action towards gender parity, but there are others. The 2025 theme of making a pledge encourages us all to consider how we can contribute.
If you are unsure what your pledge to #AccelerateAction might be, reflecting on the women who have profoundly impacted your life can be a good starting point. Think about those who have played pivotal roles – family members, teachers, mentors or public figures and acknowledge their influence. Consider how their qualities have shaped your values and decisions. Express gratitude for their impact and look at ways to embody their traits to support and inspire others.
As we mark International Women’s Day, let us all consider the steps we can take to drive change.
- https://www.internationalwomensday.com/
↩︎ - https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal5 ↩︎
- https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/mar/06/female-doctors-outnumber-male-peers-in-uk-for-first-time
↩︎ - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/03/uk-awarded-its-lowest-ranking-for-workplace-gender-equality-in-a-decade ↩︎
- https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1473714/1/Sullivan2010Single-sex6.pdf ↩︎
- https://www.independentschoolparent.com/promotion/single-sex-schools/?utm_source=chatgpt.com ↩︎
- https://gsa.uk.com/2025/02/stem-research-news/ ↩︎
- https://girlsschools.org/advocacy/blog/2019/12/18/why-girls-schools-are-more-relevant-than-ever/ ↩︎
From the Headmistress 