What is workplace harassment and what can you do when it happens?

Join our virtual fall session to learn about your rights, explore available supports and build practical strategies to respond with confidence.

Created for those who identify as women, the FemLightenment Series offers space to share experiences, strategies and ideas for navigating educational leadership.

Visit https://buff.ly/xg4dU2S to register now for Tuesday, October 20, 2026, from 6:30–7:30 p.m

1. Atomic Habits by James Clear

   1. book review

   2. No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving—every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.

2. The Braid by Laetitia Colombani

   1. book summary

   2. In this unforgettable international bestseller, three women from very different circumstances around the world find their lives intertwined by a single object and discover what connects us—across cultures, across backgrounds, and across borders. 

3. Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall

   1. book review

   2. Today's feminist movement has a glaring blind spot, and paradoxically, it is women. Mainstream feminists rarely talk about meeting basic needs as a feminist issue, argues Mikki Kendall, but food insecurity, access to quality education, safe neighborhoods, a living wage, and medical care are all feminist issues. All too often, however, the focus is not on basic survival for the many, but on increasing privilege for the few. That feminists refuse to prioritize these issues has only exacerbated the age-old problem of both internecine discord and women who rebuff at carrying the title. Moreover, prominent white feminists broadly suffer from their own myopia with regard to how things like race, class, sexual orientation, and ability intersect with gender. How can we stand in solidarity as a movement, Kendall asks, when there is the distinct likelihood that some women are oppressing others? 

4. The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor

   1. book review

   2. Conventional wisdom holds that if we work hard we will be more successful, and if we are more successful, then we’ll be happy. If we can just find that great job, win that next promotion, lose those five pounds, happiness will follow. But recent discoveries in the field of positive psychology have shown that this formula is actually backward: Happiness fuels success, not the other way around. When we are positive, our brains become more engaged, creative, motivated, energetic, resilient, and productive at work. This isn’t just an empty mantra. This discovery has been repeatedly borne out by rigorous research in psychology and neuroscience, management studies, and the bottom lines of organizations around the globe. 

5. Tripping the Prom Queen by Susan Shapiro Barsh

1. book review

2. Tripping the Prom Queen is a groundbreaking investigation into the dark secret of female rivalry.

Susan Shapiro Barash has exploded the myth that women help one another, are supportive of one another, and want each other to succeed. Based on interviews with women across a broad social spectrum, she has discovered that the competition between women is more vicious precisely because it is covert. She tells

* Why women can't and won't admit to rivalry.

* How women are trained from an early age to compete with one another.

* In which areas women most heatedly compete.

* How rivalry is different among women than among men.

* The differences between competition, envy, and jealousy.

* When competition is healthy and when it isn't.

* Why women find it irresistible to "trip the prom queen."

* Useful strategies to stop the competition and forge a new kind of relationship with other women.

Whether you've tripped the prom queen or been tripped yourself, you will discover an engrossing exploration of this female phenomenon, as well as a beacon of hope for better, more fulfilling relationships. 

     6. The Power Code by Katty Kay & Claire Shipman

1. book review

2. Power is not working—for women, for men, or for the world. We don’t need to remake women. We need to remake power . N ew York Times bestselling authors Katty Kay and Claire Shipman are on a mission to reclaim power for women. In the wake of sweeping changes in the way we work, the veteran journalists challenge pre­conceived notions of what power is and what it’s good for, along with the insidious, mostly hidden structures of the status quo that hold women back. What started as a straightforward examination of best practices has become a manifesto for a new form of power, a distinctly female version that is already emerging in workplaces, in politics, and on the home front. It’s a version that is more appealing to women (and most men as well). It offers women a blueprint for shaping their own professional futures, maximizing their impact for the benefit of others, and experiencing the real joy that comes from taking the reins and influencing outcomes. Writing from their own lived experiences, Kay and Shipman interviewed dozens of women of all ages, races, and backgrounds around the world, as well as cutting-edge academic researchers. Taken together, these per­spectives offer a clear-eyed and hopeful redesign of the workplace and our relationships at home, one that puts women in a remade and modernized seat of power. And now is exactly the right moment for women to step into their power. What’s at stake is much greater than the next job; it’s about the need for a new vision of what power can be, for a new code that focuses not simply on hierarchy, on having power over others, but also on purpose, on what power can achieve. Both a prescription for societal change and a pro-fessional guidebook for individual women, The Power Code shows you how to leverage the power you already have, find new sources of power in yourself and your community, and remodel your workplace and your home-life to produce less ego, more joy, and maximum impact. 

     7. Step In, Step Up: Empowering Women for the School Leadership Journey

  by Jane A G Kise & Barbara K Watterston

1. Unable to find a book review

2. Women have incredible potential to drive change in education if they step up to lead at all levels. In Step In, Step Up, authors Jane A. G. Kise and Barbara K. Watterston guide current and aspiring women leaders through a twelve-week leadership journey. An assortment of activities, reflection prompts, and stories empower readers to overcome gender barriers to leadership and engage in opportunities to learn, grow, and lead within their school communities.

This book will inspire you to step into educational leadership with confidence.

Examine the need for women in leadership positions at schools and districts. Consider your own leadership identity and learn where to make adjustments. Feel empowered to overcome gender barriers, female stereotypes, and the double bind experienced by women in leadership roles. Gain tools and strategies for creating an action plan for effective instructional leadership in schools. Learn about hard and soft leadership skills and their value in leadership. Complete reflection activities to reinforce learning and professional development. 

TED Talks by women leaders

Who should run more of the world? Women. Until then, enjoy these talks by awesome women who lead fiercely and fearlessly.

MTS Women and Leadership Symposium: A signature networking and collaborative event designed for women and gender-diverse members in collaborative event designed for women and gender-diverse members in education (held annually in March, such as March 6–7, 2026) I am hopeful that they will offer another symposium in 2027. 

International Women's Day March 8, 2027

About International Women’s Day

The beginnings of International Women's Day can be traced back to the early twentieth century. It emerged from the activities of labour movements in North America and Europe and reflected a growing call for women’s equal participation in society.

International Women's Day first took place on March 19, 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland, when over a million people attended rallies to show their support for women's rights to work, vote, hold public office and live free of discrimination. Other countries began to observe and celebrate this day in the years that followed. The United Nations recognized 1975 as International Women's Year and began celebrating March 8 as International Women's Day.

Today, International Women's Day is a day of unity, celebration, reflection, advocacy, and action and is marked in many countries worldwide, including Canada.

Ways to get involved

• Share stories of women making a difference in your community, school, or workplace

• Take action to support gender equality in your everyday life (support women-led initiatives, challenge stereotypes, promote fairness and understanding)

• Learn about inspiring Canadian women and the history of gender equality in Canada:

  • Get to know the Women of Impact in Canada online gallery featuring profiles of courageous women who have made an impact in politics, the arts and sciences, and countless other fields

  • Explore the Women in Canadian History: A Timeline showcasing the achievements of Canadian women in various fields such as politics, sciences, and the arts

  • Consult the Gender equality timeline for an overview of gender equality milestones in Canada

  • Watch Heritage Minutes videos on notable Canadian women

• Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram and share our social media posts, or start a conversation by using our social media sharea