Supporting Rural Women Leaders with Teresa Kittridge

March is Women’s History Month, and this episode focuses on how education can build confidence, provide mirrors, and demystify pathways for our young girls and women to follow their dreams and take a seat at the table. Teresa Kittridge, founder of 100 Rural Women, shares personal stories, advice, and supports for each of us to lean into as we work to remove barriers and illuminate possibilities through the power of education.
Why women in leadership?

• It’s an equity issue, we need women to have a seat at the table
• Most women tend to work collaboratively, individual recognition is not often a priority
• Women want to “get stuff done and go home!”
• We don’t have enough women in leadership, it’s a crisis in rural right now

Advice for educators

• Connect young girls to the many options and positions they have available to them. 
• Keep girls believing in themselves, having those visions, seeing themselves in the future
• See kids as individuals with individual gifts and talents
• Highlight women in a variety of roles and throughout the curriculum
• Advocate for library collections with a broad array of people, culture, and topics
• Demystify the path, remove barriers, and help women see themselves in leadership roles

Advice from Teresa

• Find your passion and take some risks, believe in yourself
• It’s ok to make changes
• Anytime you have an opportunity to continue your learning, take it!
• You can’t change everything at once
• Don’t forget about appointed positions as pathways to other leadership or elected roles
• Not everyone wants to be out front, but how do you support the women that do?

Reflection Questions:

• Which educators (if any) do you recall elevating women in leadership and showing you examples of what is possible for women in leadership?  What do you do as an educator?
• Reflect on your own curriculum and classroom libraries; do you have enough representation?  How could you make it even better?
• What is the most important take away from this conversation and how will you use it to impact your life and the lives of those you serve?

Resources and References

• We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• Learn more about Erin Schutte Wadzinski and her work in Worthington, MN
• The Dress Maker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon  
• The Exceptional Attorney Woo
• Join a Sourcewell Media/Library Support Network

Connect with Teresa:

Teresa@100ruralwomen.org
100 rural women website and on social media @100ruralwomen

• Mentorship networks
• Book Club 
• Ask a Leading W

Browse resources and access full show notes at https://www.mn.sourcewell.org/education/podcast

Learn more about upcoming trainings and events for educators at www.mn.sourcewell.org/education