Holding Ground: Women, Conservation and Power in the Global Majority
A fellowship for women in conservation leadership developed by Karla Sessin Dilascio & Rosebell Abwonji with the support of the Global Diversity Foundation
Holding Ground: Women, Conservation and Power in the Global Majority is a new fellowship programme designed to bring together self-identified women operating at the intersection of conservation, climate and environmental stewardship and social justice in leadership positions within their organisations and/or communities.
Imagined and held by GEN members and CCF alumnae Karla Sessin Dilascio and Rosebell Abwonji, Holding Ground is imagined as a sharing circle, support system and intimate space to bring vulnerabilities, challenges, as well as solutions to fellow companions.
The fellowship prioritises women who have had limited access to international spaces, but demonstrate strong leadership within their communities.
The programme of the fellowship is designed to strengthen participants’s leadership, confidence and influence, specifically by:
Opening a safe space for more enduring leadership
Encouraging honest reflection and vulnerability, by providing an environment where women leaders can openly discuss the challenges they face. Exploring practical strategies for developing wellbeing and emotional resilience in women’s every day leadership journeys, by recognising the emotional labour they carry and possible long-term health impacts of leadership under duress.
Strengthening confidence while navigating gendered consequences of leadership
Supporting participants to lead with confidence by critically examining the social and institutional penalties that women often experience for displaying authority, assertiveness or ambition, while co-developing strategies for navigating these dynamics.
Reimagining leadership beyond patriarchal norms
Reflecting collectively on dominant models of leadership and sharing approaches that are collaborative, relational and rooted in care, reciprocity and community. Critically addressing what leadership looks like when it is not measured against traditional male standards.
Offering companionship through the Rafiki Meet-Ups, a tailored support system
Accompanying participants through their personal leadership journeys with dedicated one-to-one meetings with our team, offering presence and frank dialogue as they navigate through their challenges and embrace transformations for themselves, their organisations and the communities they serve.
Building lasting networks of solidarity and mutual support
Fostering relationships that continue beyond the fellowship by creating an enduring community where participants seek advice, exchange ideas and support one another, while also creating frameworks and actions that can improve opportunities for future women leaders in the conservation sector.
Researching the landscape of women in conservation’s leadership
Contributing to broader evidence, based on the experiences of women leaders in conservation. Through surveys, reflective learning and facilitated discussions, the programme documents the barriers faced by women across different regions, helping to address significant knowledge gaps within the conservation sector, contributing to a wider conversation on equity, representation and leadership in conservation. The research from this pilot will contribute to a resource, as well as the development of future fellowships.
Spanning 6 months and unfolding through 6 modules and 12 sessions, the pilot edition of Holding Ground: Women, Conservation and Power in the Global Majority takes place between September 2026 and February 2027, and brings together a cohort of 12 conservation leaders from the Global Majority.
