Women empowering women at EF

in People· 1 min read

When you start working at EF Education First, you notice something immediately: there are a lot of women at EF. Even more notable, there are a lot of women in leadership positions at EF.

At EF, women are business unit presidents, heads of sales teams, in charge of offices and schools, leading technology and finance teams, and running real estate projects. And they are doing it in cities and countries around the world. Women at EF are literally and figuratively everywhere. But what really stands out is that these women aren’t just leading – they are supporting and coaching other women at EF to follow in their footsteps.

Toni Morrison once said, “If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else.” That is critical for leaders when research shows that people in power have lower levels of empathy than those who lack power. EF exists to encourage empathy and understanding between people, so perhaps it’s no surprise that the women working at EF support and empower each other, despite the research.

In celebration of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, I spoke to some amazing women around the world of EF to learn more about what drives them. Our conversations were honest, at times vulnerable, always inspiring, and featured quite a few laughs. Together we shared our successes, challenges, ambitions, and lessons learned on a range of topics related to being women at work.

Watch the video series Women at EF, which highlights some of the key moments from these conversations.

Women at EF | A conversation on empowerment, mentorship, and mental health

In this first video in the series, we talked about everything from mentorship to mental health.

Women at EF | Advice to your younger self

Do you ever think about what advice you would give to your younger self? We had a lot of insight to share when thinking about what we would say to our younger selves.

Women at EF | Building a network

Networking is critical for both personal and professional development. We talked about how we approach networking and why giving without expectation of return is one of the most effective networking strategies.

Women at EF | Preparing for big moments

We talked about getting ready for the big moments in our life and career — times when we have to be in the spotlight, deliver hard news, or make an important presentation. Whether rituals or mantras or self-care, we all shared tips and tricks that help us be our best.