Gender advocate hails appointment of Calabar's first female principal

By Nakinskie Robinson  

 

In a Calabar High School first, a woman has been appointed principal of the 112 year-old boys school, a historic move being lauded by gender advocate, Judith Wedderburn.

 

Sian Mahay Wilson, who brings with her three decades of experience as a teacher and administrator, was appointed principal of the school on July 1.

 

The school's administrative board said she underwent a rigorous selection process from which she emerged the candidate most suited to the lead the school at this time.

 

Ms. Wedderburn says that intense process indicates that Ms. Wilson's appointment can withstand opposition and scrutiny. 

 

"I suspect, they've prepared themselves to be able to say she is the best that we have, and nevermind the tradition that they've never had a female principal."

 

"I think in the back of their mind, they were also mindful of the fact that if she were to become principal - and I'm glad she did - it would be something exceptionally different," she added. 

 

Conceding that it may not have been a unanimous decision, Ms. Wedderburn argued that, oftentimes, some quarters do not "accept that women can do just as well and have a right to be the principal of a school".

 

Ms. Wilson faced rejection by the Calabar Parent-Teacher Association and the Calabar Old Boys' Association during her time as acting principal following the resignation of Albert Corcho in August 2023.

 

Prior to that, Ms. Wilson served as a senior vice-principal at Calabar High for eight years and before that, as a teacher of accounts.

 

When asked about the dynamic of having a woman principal and how the institution would be led differently, Ms. Wedderburn said the varying expectations of a woman in leadership will help to shape the outcome. 

 

"My experience is that women in those positions are very aware that sometimes they need to go beyond, to demonstrate that they are the best. I think it's a lesson that young women are learning, but I think they also now are understanding that they have a right to be there. I certainly wouldn't agree that this is now the norm. But what it tells us is that it is possible," she said. 

 

Ms. Wilson's appointment as principal of a traditional all-male institution is the second ever in Jamaica's history.

 

The first is principal of St. Georges College, Margaret Campbell, who was appointed more than a decade ago.

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