High School Essay Contest 

The Yale Women's Leadership Initiative Essay Contest is open to current high school students in the U.S. and internationally from grades 9-12.

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Please submit your work via this Google Form. Please answer this prompt in 500-1000 words: “Why is women’s leadership important in today's world, and how have you contributed to, advocated for, or advanced the understanding of women’s rights and/or empowered women in your school and/or community?” 

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Submissions must be in Times New Roman, point 12 font, in PDF format, with a file name of LastName_FirstName_WLIContest.

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The deadline for submissions is 1/2/2025 at 11:59 pm EST. Winners will be announced on our Instagram @yalewli and published on our Yale WLI website. 

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Winners and family are invited to attend our flagship annual Yale Women’s Leadership Initiative Conference on Yale University's campus (tentatively in February 2025) and receive networking opportunities with members of the Yale community, including faculty, alumni, speakers, and students. Winners will receive certificates from Yale WLI and prizes of $200, $100, and $50 for first, second, and third place. Winners may also include honorable mentions and finalists. Winners will be required to provide their own transportation to and from Yale’s campus for the conference.

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Please direct any inquiries to Sabrina Guo at sabrina.guo@yale.edu. We look forward to reading your work!