
Our Founders
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The History of ISGP
The Independent School Gender Project (ISGP) began in 1996 when a group of women from independent schools across the country gathered to express their concerns about the inequitable experiences of women and girls in the independent schools in which they worked. Adult-centered discussions focused on the lack of female role models and mentors, blatant sexism in the workplace, and a dearth of professional leadership opportunities. Student-centered topics included addressing body issues, sexual decision making, the explicit and implicit silencing of female voices, and the overall health and well-being of girls in their school communities. This group of committed educators was determined to find a way to make their concerns about gender-equity and student well-being known and to affect change in their institutions, ensuring positive experiences for students and adults in their schools.
The annual meetings (the Symposiums) in these initial years focused on the development of two distinct ISGP products: a community climate survey and a biennial summer conference. The community climate survey, one of the first of its kind, gathered qualitative and quantitative data from members of the adult and student populations regarding the equity, opportunity, and their sense of belonging. These surveys, administered every three years, provided data that allowed for the comparison of results both between schools of a single administration year as well as longitudinal data comparison for a single school. The biennial summer conference was held at The Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. Initially these conferences and the annual ISGP adult Symposiums were intentionally aimed at women and girls; however, as our understanding of the complex and diverse nature of gender issues expanded, our attendance expectations broadened as well.
Our work is inclusive and intentionally intersectional, and all interested in joining us to facilitate and promote dialogue around gender in your schools are welcome. In recognition of the fact that decades after ISGP’s founding, a need for a space that promotes dialogue around issues of gender continues to exist, our annual Symposiums offer opportunities for relevant and timely gender-focused conversation and education by scholars and leaders in the field in an effort to provide an equitable and positive educational experience for all members of independent school communities.
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Our Board
The ISGP Board is a working board. We gather several times a year to ensure that our work remains relevant as the world and our communities shift. Each of us is either working or has worked in an independent school for many years and we are committed to enhancing those school environments as well as the communities in which they are rooted.