Widening the lens: Reimagining leadership among young women of color
Source: NPQ
There are many ways to step into political leadership in America, and how you go about it is often informed by your background, identity, and experiences. I direct a nonprofit called IGNITE, which trained over 10,000 young women as leaders across 30 states during the 2020 election cycle. Most of these emerging leaders are young women of color.
But what does it mean to develop young leaders? The answer is not always obvious.
Our work is influenced by perspectives like those of Cambridge academic Heide Baumann. In her writing, Baumann challenges conventional liberal narratives that blithely assume progress. She writes, “dominant narratives—which are rarely evidence-based—optimistically put forward the notion that we are on the right track.” Wishful thinking, in other words, trumps analysis. Baumann reminds us of the need to work at the level of culture, to rethink what leadership is and redefine it—rather than try to train women leaders to fit mainstream definitions of leadership.
Click here to read the full article published by NPQ on 20 October 2022.
There are many ways to step into political leadership in America, and how you go about it is often informed by your background, identity, and experiences. I direct a nonprofit called IGNITE, which trained over 10,000 young women as leaders across 30 states during the 2020 election cycle. Most of these emerging leaders are young women of color.
But what does it mean to develop young leaders? The answer is not always obvious.
Our work is influenced by perspectives like those of Cambridge academic Heide Baumann. In her writing, Baumann challenges conventional liberal narratives that blithely assume progress. She writes, “dominant narratives—which are rarely evidence-based—optimistically put forward the notion that we are on the right track.” Wishful thinking, in other words, trumps analysis. Baumann reminds us of the need to work at the level of culture, to rethink what leadership is and redefine it—rather than try to train women leaders to fit mainstream definitions of leadership.
Click here to read the full article published by NPQ on 20 October 2022.
