Most of you in the industry know or have worked with Lucy Horsefield in the past, and if you've been following her on social media you'd also know that Lucy has embarked on a very industry journey and is reading for an MSc in Organisational Psychology. Are you a young woman working in your first leadership role in the UK international education industry? If so, this article is for you and you can be the one to help Lucy as she starts preparing for her dissertation. Lucy will also be our special guest on our next Live Broadcast which will take place on the Schools & Agents Facebook Page on Tuesday 27th June at 10am UK time.

"Our industry employs many women, and it is common to find women in management roles at a young age," says Lucy as she describes what her studies are about. "However, companies are often small and medium-sized businesses and don’t have the gender-specific development pathways that exist in larger, corporate entities or universities. The aim of my study is to learn more about women’s experiences in their first leadership role in the sector and to make practical recommendations for what support and development would help them thrive," Lucy adds.

Target Study Participants

Participants might be centre managers, department heads, academic directors or hold senior administrative or academic roles. They don’t have to be an MD or Director. Ideally, they will work in an educational institution, agency, service provider or publisher. But not somewhere with a formal female leadership development pathway or programme.

For her study, Lucy would like to interview women who:

• Work in the international education industry (e.g., school, agency, service provider, publisher, exam board).
• Began their first leadership role in the past 5 years (approx.) and have been in post for a minimum of 12 months.
• Directly manage a minimum of 4 people and work with senior leaders and/or business owners in the company.
• Are aged between 27 – 42 (Millennials)
• Employer does not have a formal pathway or system to support female leadership.

Participants must be in the UK, for City University insurance reasons.

The interview will just take 45 – 60 minutes and can be held on Zoom at any time that suits the interviewee. It will be completely confidential. Therefore, if you, or anyone you know, would be happy to talk to me, do get in touch with Lucy directly at [email protected].