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When I arrived at the GWL Dialogue, I could not have anticipated just how impactful the experience would become. Having attended similar conferences before, I expected a familiar format and discourse. What I did not expect was how decisively women’s leadership would shape the space. Not as a distant ideal, but as something visible and lived.
I have long believed that women lead differently than men, but GWL Voices gave that belief new clarity. Observing women leaders interact with one another, and with us as younger participants, made this difference tangible. Their perspectives reflected lived experience and accountability, bringing depth and nuance to conversations often dominated by abstraction. Throughout the conference, this belief was not simply reinforced; it was put into practice.
Serving as a Her Turn Rapporteur was an experience I deeply valued. I was constantly aware that being in that room, listening closely to wiser and more experienced voices, was a privilege. As a student still learning, I have too rarely been in spaces where women are given the authority and freedom to share their knowledge with such conviction. What struck me most, however, was not only what was said, but what was absent. At no point were women asked to justify their leadership by explaining how it fits into a “personal life”, a question that continues to be disproportionately directed at women, and rarely at men. That absence felt powerful, allowing the conversation to remain where it belonged: focused on ideas, responsibility, and change.
On a personal level, this experience meant more to me than I initially expected. I was introduced to feminism before I was introduced to the world of international relations. In many ways, the first led me to the second. Being part of the dialogue felt like the point where those two paths came together. It reaffirmed my belief that feminism and global governance are not separate interests, but deeply interconnected , and necessary to one another.
The dominant feeling I left with was hope. But as I learned during the conference, hope is not something we hold for ourselves. It belongs to the people living through conflict, inequality, and crisis. Realizing this transformed hope into responsibility, and into courage. The courage to act, to learn, and to place that hope at the service of others.
For me, GWL Voices was reassurance. Reassurance that a better way is possible, and that this way is already taking shape, with women leading the change.