Abstract
In the pursuit of more equitable schools, a critical examination of the purpose and methods employed, especially in leadership roles, becomes imperative for both students and staff. Educational institutions are increasingly under scrutiny for their efforts to establish leadership teams that genuinely mirror the diverse student populations they serve. This chapter delves into a comprehensive exploration of the historical and contemporary challenges faced by districts striving to foster gender-inclusive leadership, advocating for a more inclusive and representative educational landscape.
TopBackground
In 2020, Jagannathan wrote a piece on marketplace.com that included the quote, “There are more S&P CEOs named Michael or James than women chief executives.” His purpose was to show that women are still not taking the lead in many companies despite the number of women in the corporate business world. The same is also happening in education when looking at the role of the superintendency. The most recent study conducted by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) in 2020 found that women make up only 26.68% of the superintendents in the United States. Academic qualifications can no longer explain this discrepancy because women earn advanced degrees in all areas equal to male counterparts. There have been several studies on why the corporate and educational worlds are not seeing more women leaders at the highest executive levels (Ellerson Ng, N et al. 2020).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Sponsorship: A mentor or someone in a position of power supporting and helping someone get to the next position.
Glass Ceiling: An invisible barrier that is systemic and difficult for women to overcome in order to reach the top executive positions.
Good Old Boys Networks: The feeling of being left out by men in the world of work because of the distinct meetings and bonding happening elsewhere where women are not invited or happen in front of women, but they are not included in.
Line and Staff Positions: Line positions are positions that get you in line to the next promotion and staff positions pull you off the path of promotion to navigate a different path.
Gender: How you define yourself in terms of characteristics that match a certain cultural norm of male or female.
Mentorship: Someone who can help guide or navigate someone in the work and hiring world
Bias: Bias is the presence of prejudice or favoritism that skews perception and leads to unequal treatment based on individual or group characteristics.
Myth of Meritocracy: The belief that women need to be better than the average man and there for constantly raising the bar and creating barriers for women that they can’t apply to jobs until they have done x, y, and z.