Evolution in a very old place
Autumn is the time of year I look to get inspired, and this September more than delivered.
During the summer, I’d gotten a call from Capella Festa, President of the Schlumberger Foundation in Paris, inviting me to deliver the keynote at the 2025 Faculty for the Future Forum in Cambridge, UK. The annual event brings together the 70 or so women that the Foundation is currently funding to receive PhDs or post-doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math at top universities in UK, Europe, and Japan. Nearly 1,000 women have received support since the program started in 2004.
The women come from countries like Somalia, Zambia, Sudan, Palestine, Syria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Jordan, Philippines, and Iraq, where the need for advanced technical skills is great. Many return home to put their expertise to work, while others become academic leaders or entrepreneurs in Europe, UK, or Australia.
My sister Cece Helgesen, who runs workshops on leadership and storytelling in France, met me in London, and together we attended the Forum while also exploring beautiful, soulful, ancient Cambridge. We delighted in the libraries, pubs, stunning churches, parks with massive sycamores, and boats along the peaceful River Cam.
Above all, Cece and I loved meeting astonishing women committed to changing the future: rebuilding a formerly prestigious research lab in Khartoum, transforming medical education in Somalia, developing tools to provide clean water to millions in Uganda and Kenya. We came away from Cambridge filled with the desire to do what we can to bring visibility and support to Foundation’s mission
Thirty-seven years ago, I had an insight that would transform my life and work: I saw that women had distinctive leadership skills that needed to be recognized so the world could reap the benefits. I began writing and speaking on the topic, taking my message wherever I could get a hearing. This gave me a front-row seat to witness the evolution of positive change at scale, and filled my heart with hope for the future. Seeing so many brave women acting on their power in places where doing so can be dangerous and unwelcome confirmed this seed of hope within me for the future.
