Understanding the Evolving Needs of Leaders Across Career Stages

Women play a critical role in the conservation and stewardship of the environment and are essential to efforts to address climate change and build more sustainable and resilient communities. Yet, women remain underrepresented in leadership across the conservation, climate, and environmental sectors. Gender disparities are evident when comparing representation in conservation-related academic fields and among early-career environmental professionals with representation at mid- and senior-level leadership positions. Allyship—the engagement of individuals with power and influence in supporting, advocating for, and helping to dismantle barriers —has emerged as a strategy for advancing greater equity across many sectors, although its effectiveness and implementation have been mixed. Given persistent gender disparities in the conservation, climate, and environmental fields, understanding how allyship can contribute to more equitable pathways to leadership is an important area for research.

In collaboration with Planet Women, a nongovernmental organization dedicated to supporting the advancement of women leaders across the environmental and climate sectors, William & Mary students will explore how allyship is understood and experienced by people working across conservation, climate, and environmental fields. Students will examine the perceived advantages and limitations of allyship as a strategy for advancing gender equity and explore how perspectives may differ across gender, race, generation, career stage, and other dimensions of experience. The research will center the perspectives of women participating in Planet Women’s 100 Women Pathway program, which supports women in advancing toward leadership positions in the environmental, conservation, and climate sectors. By prioritizing the experiences and insights of women leaders themselves while also examining perspectives among potential allies and other actors in the field, the project will identify patterns, challenges, and opportunities for strengthening allyship as a strategy for supporting more equitable leadership pathways. Findings will contribute to ongoing conversations about how individuals and organizations can better support women’s advancement and leadership across the environmental sector.