Since March began, the School has marked Women’s History Month (WHM) and International Women’s Day (IWD) in style, with celebrations and events continuing throughout the month.

Year 13 pupils were fortunate to hear from school governor, Sarah Fletcher, whose distinguished career in education has included serving as headmistress at three schools, most recently at St Paul’s Girls’ School. She began by reflecting on the origins of International Women’s Day, recalling how, at the 1910 Copenhagen Conference of the Second International, Clara Zetkin proposed the idea of an annual International Women’s Day to champion women’s suffrage and labour rights around the world.

Drawing on her own professional journey, Sarah spoke candidly about occasions when she experienced unequal treatment, and the lasting impact such experiences can have. She also charted significant milestones in women’s history, including partial suffrage for women over 30 in 1918, and the introduction of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, which made it illegal to discriminate against women in employment, education and training.

Keen to ensure her talk was inclusive, Sarah emphasised that gender equality benefits everyone. She highlighted statistics on domestic abuse affecting both women and men, and addressed the challenges that toxic masculinity poses across society. Her central message was clear: we must change the conversation and work collectively to ensure that discriminatory attitudes and treatment towards women become a thing of the past. In that spirit, she suggested that March might be embraced not only as Women’s History Month, but as ‘Equality Month’ — a call to action and engagement for us all.