Too often education stops at knowledge. But the true power lies in applying knowledge to serve others. To build systems that generate leaders who raise up more leaders.

Leadership, but with a ripple in mind

When girls are taught leadership early - how to convene, coordinate, influence, and stand up for others - they don’t just climb; they bring others with them. Initiatives like the 30% Club (led by business chairs and CEOs) show how female representation at the top can shift culture broadly. Wikipedia
Imagine an education that seeds such representation at the grassroots level.

Financial literacy with community impact

When a girl learns how to manage money, budget and create value, she can not only secure her future - she can mentor younger girls, invest in her neighbourhood and build local business ecosystems. Financial literacy becomes a tool of community resilience.

Emotional resilience that spreads

Resilience isn’t only about surviving adversity; it’s about teaching others how to do so. A girl who learns to name her emotions, set boundaries, and speak her truth becomes a mentor and example to others, multiplying emotional safety and strength in her family, her school, and her community.

Why the Global Gender Gap in Leadership Demands a Multiplier Approach

The data show that the gap in leadership between men and women remains significant and that individual success, while important, doesn’t automatically create systemic change.

• Globally, as of 2024-25, women hold only about 30.6% of leadership positions across 74 countries studied by the LinkedIn Economic Graph Research Institute. Economic Graph
• In the corporate sphere, women rose from 17% of C-suite roles in 2015 to 29% in 2024, a gain, yes, but still far from parity. McKinsey & Company
• In Europe and OECD countries, only around one-third of managers are women, and just about 8% of CEOs in public broadcasting organisations. OECD
• According to the International Labour Organization, the “beneficial effects of gender equality and diversity begin to accrue when women hold about 30% of senior management and leadership roles.” International Labour Organization

What this means: Even when some women achieve leadership, the broader system often remains unchanged. Individual wins do not automatically yield system-wide wins. Hence the need for a mindset of multiplication - when one girl leads, many others follow.

Empowering Girls Through Skill-Building & Confidence for Community Leadership

To create multiplier change, empowerment must be both strategic and inclusive.

Focus on skill-building that invites others in.

• Teach entrepreneurial thinking: not just to launch a venture, but to hire and mentor others.
• Teach digital literacy so girls become educators, technologists, and community facilitators — not just consumers.
• Teach civic leadership: girls learn to advocate for groups and organise collective action rather than isolate as lone achievers.

Confidence-based education that honours community outcomes

Confidence must not be self-centred. It should be service-centred. Girls should be encouraged to ask, “How can I lift others?” “Who can I bring along?” “What does it mean to lead a team, a village, a network?”
By embedding mentoring, peer teaching, and community projects into curricula, education becomes a lever for multiplication.

Leverage role models and movements.

Consider the impact of women like Sheryl Sandberg, whose “Lean In” movement inspired women globally but also encouraged peer-support networks. Or the 30% Club, which urges change in boardrooms globally. These are systemic efforts, not solo triumphs.
When girls see and become part of movements, they become catalysts rather than lone stars.

Systemic Change: From One to Many

Multiplication happens when education designs for ripple effects:

• Curricula that incorporate peer mentoring (girls building leadership in each other)
• Project-based learning where girls lead community initiatives (so impact extends beyond the school walls)
• Incentives for schools and programmes to track how many younger girls their graduates influence, not only how many graduates get jobs
• Partnerships, such as between my own Saba Family Foundation and global organisations, to ensure scale and community reach

Imagine a programme where every girl who completes the course commits to mentoring two younger girls. Her classmates then mentor two each; we move from 10 to 30 to 90 in one cycle. That’s the multiplier effect in action.

A Call to Action: Lead Change, Not Just Achieve

For educators, policymakers, parents, and girls themselves: Let us ask not only “What did I achieve?” but also “Whom did I lift?”
Let us shift from personal success to shared success.
Let us build education systems so that when one girl rises, many rise.
Because the future of leadership is not the lone female executive; it’s a network of women and girls leading, creating, mentoring, and uplifting.
When girls are taught not just to learn but to lead, education becomes a force for multiplication.

Together, we can create leaders who lead other leaders.
And by doing so, change becomes contagious, communities become stronger, and the world becomes more just.