As International Women’s Day is marked around the world, women in leadership roles across the evidence and health sectors are reflecting on their careers, lessons learned and what it means to ‘give’ as a leader.
This year, leaders from JBI, the Guidelines International Network (GIN), and Instituto Veredas in Brazil shared their reflections and thoughts on what they have learned about mentorship, collaboration and sustaining leadership in complex systems.
Leadership begins with empathy
Leadership in global evidence organizations must start with empathy and patience, according to Zoe Jordan, Executive Director of JBI.
“What I have come to understand over many years of leadership,” she says, “is that the most powerful thing I can give is not advice, strategy or even opportunity; it is my time and care.”
She points out that in highly technical, data-driven organizations, leaders sometimes underestimate the importance of empathy.
“When you lead with humanity, empathy and compassion, you create the conditions for trust and psychological safety. When people feel safe, seen and valued, they do their best thinking and their most creative work.”
Laura Boeira, Head of Department at Instituto Veredas, suggests that decades of male-dominated leadership in scientific environments have sometimes privileged rigid, black-and-white thinking, while undervaluing relational and emotional insight.
“There is a whole range of colours and diversity that, to me, it seems women leaders can recognize. Leaders who are able to perceive and really connect and feel relationships allows for a wider range of questions to be asked and voices to be heard.”
Find people who believe in you
Zoe credits her own development to early belief from JBI’s founder, Professor Alan Pearson AM, who entrusted her with responsibility before she felt fully ready.
“He created space for me to learn without fear of failure,” she says. “Leadership is not about directing people; it is about holding space for them to step forward.”
Laura agrees: “A huge benefit of having role models is having people that you can have honest conversations with and learn from, even if you go on to make the same mistakes.”
Daniela Carl, Chief Operating Officer of GIN, also reflects on her own background, growing up without an academic tradition or professional network to draw upon.
“What made a critical difference was having people who believed in me – often before I fully believed in myself. Talent flourishes when trust, encouragement and opportunity come together,” she says. “That is the kind of culture I strive to build.”
Encourage boldness
Ingrid Abdala, Executive Director at Instituto Veredas, encourages women to be bold and reduce self-censorship. “Sometimes you need to have the nerve to say it,” she says. “We have this saying in Brazil, cara de pau, which loosely translated to ‘be shameless’. I love this expression because it reminds us not to hold ourselves back.”
Daniela reflects that rather than waiting for change, in a previous position she and colleagues invested deliberately in early-career researchers, particularly women, creating professional development and networking opportunities. They couldn’t wait for the change to happen; they had to invest now in the next generation.
Daniela says what she gained from mentoring and supporting others is difficult to quantify but deeply meaningful.
“I gain energy and perspective from seeing others grow in confidence and step into leadership,” she says. “In giving, I have gained a sense of purpose, connection and belonging.”
Zoe adds that encouraging women to be bold often requires giving them the right environment: “If I can give women a space where they do not have to conform to a particular (and often outdated) ideology of what “performance” looks like to be valued, that is a gift that multiplies.”
Be kind to yourself
Women leaders are often called on to give more — emotionally, intellectually, and practically. Across these conversations, this is recognized this as a challenge; how do you balance giving to others while also sustaining yourself and your leadership?
Daniela comments that she’s come to see what she calls “personal leadership” as requiring self-awareness and self-compassion: “Taking time to pause, reflect, and recharge is not a luxury, but a responsibility, particularly in leadership roles.”
Zoe gives some practical advice that’s helped her to say no: “More recently, I have begun to prioritize “setting intentions”. That means being very clear about what matters most, for the organization, for my team, and for myself."
Laura and Ingrid at Instituto Verdedas echoed this, reflecting on the juggle of motherhood and the balance of how much energy you have to spare. Ingrid supports the sentiment of being intentional: “You really have to be verbal; what are your interests and your needs. And then create an environment both at work and at home where you can share these.”
Invest in the next generation
Daniela talked about her experience mentoring interns, students, PhD candidates, and early‑career researchers. For her, these were the experiences that taught her about the long-term impact of investing in people.
One thing she pointed out was a structural change. Earlier in her career in research networks and learned societies, she observed that while many women entered academia and research, far fewer remained visible at senior levels.
“The pool of senior female experts was very limited,” she says. “Often it was the same handful of women giving plenary talks.”
Zoe makes a deliberate effort to support both the professional and personal wellbeing of her team, helping them identify what she describes as their “red threads”, the elements of their work that bring energy and fulfilment.
“What I gain in return is extraordinary: commitment, honesty and innovation,” she continues. “There is nothing more rewarding than watching people grow into their potential because you created the environment for that to happen.”
Laura also emphasizes the importance of creating environments where younger women are heard and validated, rather than expecting them to adapt to existing norms without structural support.
When asked what advice they would give the next generation, both leaders from Instituto Veredas emphasized the importance of listening across differences – younger to older, older to younger, men to women, and women to men. Sustainable leadership, they suggest, depends on mutual understanding rather than hierarchy.
Their advice to established leaders is to plan succession early.
“The spotlight is beautiful and shiny,” Laura says. “But there is a timeframe for it. The minute you get into the spotlight, it’s important to start inviting people in to be the next person there. You need to plan your exits.”
Collaboration beyond competition
Across all the conversations, the same idea kept coming up. If we want a stronger global evidence community, we have to be generous, kind and patient with each other. We need to collaborate, rather than compete.
For Daniela, this means sharing knowledge openly, listening with humility and investing time and trust before returns are visible.
“Collaboration across disciplines and borders is something I deeply believe in, both professionally and personally. My academic background is interdisciplinary, and throughout my career I have consistently valued ideas and approaches from other fields. There is so much to learn when we step outside our own disciplines — silos are simply not the way forward if we want to be relevant, trusted, and impactful.”
Zoe describes collaboration built on empathy and transparency as transformational rather than transactional. And at Instituto Veredas, intergenerational responsibility was discussed as being central to sustainable leadership.
As global health systems enter a time of stretched resources, conflicting priorities and complex challenges, these leaders argue that the future of evidence-informed decision-making depends on more than methodological rigour. It depends on trust.
This International Women’s Day, the message these leaders would like to share is that giving time, belief and space to others should be seen as a leadership strategy, rather than an act of generosity. One that will help shape the next generation of leaders.
Investing time, belief and mentorship in others returns long-term benefits not only to women, but to organizations and health systems.
