Attending the Women Educational Researchers of Kenya (WERK) 30th anniversary forum was a defining moment for me as a university student leader. Sitting in a room filled with trailblazing women who have dedicated three decades to reshaping Kenya’s education system through gender research was both humbling and inspiring. I learned that research is not just about numbers or enrolment statistics. It is about power, inclusion, and the lived realities of girls and women navigating education. This realization made me see that as students, we too have a responsibility to use evidence and our voices to influence the spaces we occupy, whether in classrooms, communities, or policy discussions.
One of the most striking lessons was the importance of decentralised evidence. Hearing how studies from counties such as Kilifi, Busia, and Homabay revealed the uneven impact of national policies reminded me that education is deeply contextual. It showed me that our own student-led initiatives and research projects can contribute meaningfully to national debates if we root them in local realities. Equally powerful was the emphasis on partnerships, how collaboration between universities, government, and communities has turned research into actionable knowledge. This taught me that progress is never achieved in isolation, and as students, we must learn to build coalitions that amplify our ideas and impact.
For us, with my fellow female university students present, the forum was a space of affirmation. Sitting among experienced women gave us confidence that our journeys are valid and necessary. Their resilience and brilliance reminded us that leadership in education and research is not reserved for a select few; it is a path we, too, can walk. They became role models, showing us that it is possible to carve spaces in academia and policy where women’s voices were once absent. This intergenerational exchange gave us the courage to envision ourselves as future members and leaders within WERK, contributing to the next chapter of gender-responsive education.
Walking away from the event, I carried a renewed conviction. Conviction that our generation must document, question, and innovate so that future interventions do not repeat past mistakes. Conviction that we must embrace research as a tool for advocacy and transformation. Conviction that WERK’s legacy is not only theirs—it is ours to carry forward. As Gen Z, female university students, we left WERK @30 with a collective sense of purpose: to be bold in research, intentional in leadership, and unwavering in our commitment to gender equity in education.
It is inspirational to hear from the youth of what they perceive about their seniors in such spaces and what the young people’s responsibility and opportunity present.