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Where Are All the Women Superintendents? Seven reasons why female numbers still lag in top district posts (AASA)

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Where Are All the Women Superintendents? Seven reasons why female numbers still lag in top district posts (AASA)

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As the association for superintendents, this article outlines a study seeking to understand why so few women ascend to the highest position of power in school districts. The findings are consistent with other studies on this topic including issues with women in the superintendent pipeline, choosing to prioritize perceived personal responsibilities over professional gains, and discrimination by school boards who hire them. The article also provides strategies to address each reason.

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AASA | American Association of School Administrators

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Few Women Run the Nation's School Districts. Why? (EdWeek)

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Few Women Run the Nation's School Districts. Why? (EdWeek)

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In another national-scope article, this education magazine interviews a number of Superintendents who are women and school board members who hire them. It cites both state and national statistics emphasizing the disproportionality of women who teach vs. women who manage adults and systems in schools. The article ends by alluding to future solutions to address this and referencing AASA's initiative.

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Stubborn gender gap in the top job

Nearly a decade after she was hired as the first woman to run the Council Bluffs, Iowa, school district, Mary Martha Bruckner is often one of the only women in the room.

That was the case last month when about two dozen superintendents and finance officers from Iowa's urban school systems met to set their legislative agenda for the coming year.

Surveying the room, Bruckner spotted two other women.

"It was like, 'Wow, things haven't changed much at all,' " said Bruckner, who is used to being a pioneer. In 1986, she became the first female high school principal in the Ralston, Neb., district.

Even though K-12 education is largely a female enterprise, men dominate the chief executive's office in the nation's nearly 14,000 districts, numbers that look especially bleak given that the pool of talent is deep with women. Women make up 76 percent of teachers, 52 percent of principals, and 78 percent of central-office administrators, according to federal data and the results of a recent national survey. Yet they account for less than a quarter of all superintendents, according to a survey conducted this summer by AASA, the School Superintendents Association. But that number represents improvement since 2000, when 13 percent were women.

In Utah, the number of women in superintendent's offices can be counted on one hand. Schenectady, N.Y., hasn't had a woman in charge in the district's 162-year history. Just two years ago, Richmond County, Georgia's 12th-largest district, hired its first female superintendent.

"It's a huge problem," said Margaret Grogan, the dean of the college of educational studies at Chapman University in Orange, Calif. "If we have talented administrators, wouldn't you want all of the talented administrators to move into the superintendency? After all, that's the position that has the most power to facilitate the growth and development of all of the children and families in the district."

An Unappealing Job?

Though only a small number make it to the helm, women currently run some of the largest school systems, including those in New York City, Los Angeles, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., and Albuquerque, N.M.

So why do so few women occupy the top job?

Some simply don't want it. They prefer teaching and being close to students. The hours are punishing, school board politics can be brutal, and public scrutiny is intense. The average superintendent stays on the job less than five years. For some women, that uncertainty is not worth uprooting their families.

SEE ALSO: N.C. Superintendent's Philosophy on Being a Woman and a Schools Chief: 'You Just Do the Work'

The search for superintendents also traditionally has pulled from districts' pool of secondary school principals. Women, who were more likely to be elementary principals, were less likely to be immediately tapped. Part of the problem stems from districts' lack of planning for long-term leadership, which makes it difficult to spot talented educators, including women, who could be groomed to be in charge. Educators also see subtle biases in how school boards and search firms recruit candidates, and negative stereotypes about women's abilities to lead large institutions are still pervasive.

And with so few women in the top job, prospective female leaders have limited opportunities to network-losing out on mentors who can advise them on applying for the job, getting the right experience, and navigating difficulties.

While educators and scholars say it's crucial that more women occupy the top leadership positions in K-12, the more than one dozen current or former women superintendents interviewed by Education Week are adamant that they want to be hired because they are qualified.

"I don't want to be offered a position because I am a woman; likewise, I don't want to lose a position because I am a woman," said Julie Mitchell, the superintendent of the Rowland Unified district in Southern California. "It's really about what you can contribute to the organization, and what you can contribute to the work that can be done, regardless of what your gender is."

At the same time, Mitchell acknowledged: "I think it would be naïve to think there are not some stereotypes that exist."

It wasn't always that way, said Thomas Glass, a retired professor of education leadership at the University of Memphis.

In 1930, when the education profession was even more female-dominated than now, the American school system was mostly rural, and women ran many of the nation's countywide districts, Glass said. With the end of World War II, and male veterans' taking advantage of the GI Bill, more men started entering the profession.

"Women kind of got shoved to the back of the bus in the '40s, '50s, and '60s," Glass said.

Qualifications, Not Gender

When they do get the job, women often face scrutiny men don't, some superintendents said. They are told to smile more, their appearances are critiqued, and they can face harsh treatment when they assert their authority.

Deborah Jewell-Sherman, a former superintendent in the Richmond, Va., district, recalled a searing moment when she rebuked a colleague at a meeting.

"I heard somebody pulling him off to the side, and I heard the B-word," said Jewell-Sherman, now a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

"I think [it] was, in part, that I had the audacity to challenge something he was saying," she said. "Part of it, I think, is race and gender. I think there is an additional burden for women of color in that role." Jewell-Sherman is African-American.

Gender is not a consideration when hiring a superintendent, some school board members said.

"We only pay attention to the qualifications of the candidates," said Judy Nieh, a former school board member in California's Rowland Unified, who was on the board in 2005 when it hired its first female superintendent, Maria Ott.

"As long as the person is a good match with the district, I think that's far more important than whether they are male or female," Nieh added.

But Chapman University's Grogan said board members who don't look for diverse backgrounds when they consider candidates are compounding the problem, which also plagues other sectors trying to address underrepresentation of women, African-Americans, Latinos, and other groups. Top executive positions in most fields are defined by what worked for the people who've held the jobs in the past: men. Two prime examples: long and inflexible hours and the types of previous job experiences believed to be stepping stones.

School boards also have more authority than they might think to attract more female candidates to seek superintendents' jobs, said Jacinda "Jazz" Conboy, the general counsel for the New York State Council of School Superintendents.

"They can say we value diversity, we want women applicants, we want minority applicants," she said.

It's not that women are better leaders or get better results for students, Grogan and others say. But they may bring attributes that can be huge assets. The majority of women superintendents started their careers in classrooms and bring an expertise on good instruction, and because so many were principals, they know how to set goals and work with many players to achieve them, Grogan said.

Barbara Jenkins, the superintendent of Florida's Orange County district, said those asking for better representation for women are not seeking special preference. The issue, she said, is making sure well-qualified women have a fair shot at landing the job and the right supports to get there.

Jenkins credits Ronald Blocker, her predecessor in Orange County, with persistently pushing her.

"He'd say 'Snatch the pebble from my hand, it's time. It's time for you to take on that role,' " she said, quoting the 1970s "Kung Fu" television show.

Women often must make extraordinary personal sacrifices, and having supportive families and friends is essential, superintendents said. Marian Kim-Phelps, the superintendent in California's Westminster Unified district, commutes weekly from San Diego, where her husband and daughter live.

'She Meant Business'

In Bruckner's case, she was at the right place at the right time.

In 2007, after serving five years as the associate superintendent in the Millard school system in Omaha, Neb., she told her superintendent she was ready for the top job herself in another district.

"I didn't have as much influence as I wanted to, and I realized that the only way I was going to have more influence was to become a superintendent," said Bruckner.

At the same time Bruckner was ready to move up, Council Bluffs, a district of about 9,000 students across the Missouri River from Omaha, was looking for a superintendent. It had one of the lowest graduation rates in Iowa. Bruckner officially applied and was the only woman among eight finalists.

The school board hired her.

"We needed somebody who could help us as a community turn that around, and she just came across as somebody who would be able to do that," said school board member David Coziahr. "To be kind of blunt, she meant business."

Council Bluff's graduation rate has increased during Bruckner's tenure, climbing from 68 percent to 88 percent over eight years. In 2015, she was named Iowa's superintendent of the year.

Coziahr thinks other Iowa districts may be more willing to hire women based on Bruckner's success.

Bruckner herself credits a cast of mentors and former supervisors-some of them men-for encouraging her, and she said the men she works with do not treat her differently. If her gender has been an issue, she hasn't dwelled on it, she said. Her salary, however, which is $225,000 annually, draws attention every year from local news media and the community.

"There are people in my life who believe that if I were a male receiving a nice salary, it wouldn't be as big of a story," she said. "That may or may not be true. I don't know. I know I make more money [than most people] in a school district that's 70 percent free and reduced lunch. But I know I make less money than the bank presidents and big corporate leaders. I make less money than other superintendents in Iowa, but ... just wonder if part of the pushback is [from thinking that] females don't deserve that salary."

Some states-New Hampshire, California, and New York-have higher-than-average percentages of female superintendents. In sheer numbers, California leads the country, but the state also has the second-largest number of districts, more than 1,000. When the ASSA conducted its survey this summer, California had 335 women running districts.

Finding Solutions

This year, the AASA launched an initiative to find women who are prospective leaders, match them with mentors, and help them become superintendents. The program has enlisted women leaders from education and business to dig deeper into the barriers that women face and how those hurdles can be overcome.

And there are other efforts underway to bring more gender balance to the superintendent's office. In California, the Association of California School Administrators added a component to its leadership conference that includes mock interviews for women who are ready to make the leap, resume reviews, and advice about things like maintaining healthy work-life balance. In New York City, Chancellor Carmen Fariña launched a leadership development program for stellar principals and others who want to move up. Ten of the 12 fellows currently are women.

Conboy, who is on the AASA's panel, has been spearheading a similar effort in New York state, where about 30 percent of superintendents are women. It grew directly from what Conboy was hearing from women about the challenges they faced, including blatant bias.

"I hear a lot from women that they are still being asked inappropriate questions in interviews like, 'Do you have children? How do you think you can do this job if you have children?' " she said. Through the initiative, Conboy hopes to identify future district leaders and find ways for them to fill gaps in their experience.

Superintendents of both genders say men must be part of finding solutions. In New York, male district leaders are key allies, signing up female technology coordinators, teacher-leaders, and other women to be part of the women's leadership development program. Rich Calkins, the superintendent of the 627-student Alfred-Almond district, about 80 miles south of Rochester, N.Y., has recruited five of the district's female teacher-leaders for the initiative.

"We have a huge amazing force of women who are working each and every day and doing great things in the classrooms," Calkins said, "and I know with the right support and the right leadership, ... they will be great leaders in the district."

Published in Print: November 16, 2016, as Few Women Run School Districts. Why?

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Correction:

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Few Women Run the Nation's School Districts. Why?

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Nearly a decade after she was hired as the first woman to run the Council Bluffs, Iowa, school district, Mary Martha Bruckner is often one of the only women in the room. That was the case last month when about two dozen superintendents and finance officers from Iowa's urban school systems met to set their legislative agenda for the coming year.

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Where are all the Female Superintendents?

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Where are all the Female Superintendents?

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This article from respected Bellwether Education Partners, further analyzes the data from the AASA survey. The following are new insights to add to previous two articles.
"People of color are grossly underrepresented in the school leadership space. Women of color are far less likely to hold superintendent roles than their white counterparts."
"Male superintendents out-earn their female counterparts in all but one tier of district sizes."

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From Randi Weingarten to Betsy DeVos, to Michelle Rhee and Kaya Henderson, some of the biggest names in education policy on both sides of the aisle are women. The majority of teachers ( 76 percent), too, identify as female. But new survey results from the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) show that about 77 percent of school superintendents identify as male. So while women make up the majority of the teacher workforce, they are vastly underrepresented in higher-paying leadership roles.

Today is International Women's Day, and while these survey results show progress from previous years, there's significant room to grow in closing the school leadership gender gap. This disparity reinforces gender wage gaps, and, as we've covered previously, this inequity of earnings follows female teachers into retirement.

It's important to note that, while we can dig into these findings broadly, the AASA survey's 15 percent response rate suggests it may not be fully representative. Additionally, while the federal government collects representative stats on teachers and principals, it does not do so on school district superintendents. Still, state-based work, like this October Houston Chronicle piece as well as a November Education Week article delve into these trends further, with similar findings.

Here are three takeaways on the state of female superintendents we can glean from the AASA's 2016 survey:

Females tend to enter leadership roles later, and with more experience, than their male counterparts.

The median age for female superintendents is 53, two years older than their male counterparts at 51. Despite dramatically outnumbering males in the teaching workforce, it takes women slightly longer to break into leadership, and they often enter the superintendent role with more work experience than men.

Male superintendents out-earn their female counterparts in all but one tier of district sizes.

In terms of median salary, men out-earn women in four out of five district bands - women pull ahead, and actually do especially well, in just one: districts serving 10,000 to 24,999 students. This group makes up only 6 percent of female superintendents, however, and the remaining 94 percent, depending on their district size, make on average about $2,100 less annually than their male peers.

People of color are grossly underrepresented in the school leadership space. Women of color are far less likely to hold superintendent roles than their white counterparts.

School leaders of both genders are overwhelmingly white. As a whole, people of color make up just 8.1 percent of district superintendents. Men of color represent just 5.5 percent of school leaders, while women of color, just 10.8 percent.

Salary discrepancies add another layer to this, too. On average, women earn 80 cents for every dollar paid to their male peers. Women of color are especially harmed by the gender wage gap: for every dollar paid to white men, African American women earn only 63 cents, and Latinas only 54 cents. While the majority of superintendent roles, and the higher salaries that come with them, go to men, it's crucial to point out the discrepancies women of color face.

Our country's school leaders must work to be representative of the students they serve - it isn't enough to recruit and retain more women without also ensuring we're developing a truly diverse workforce.

This is not to say women haven't made progress. In 2000, AASA's same survey showed just 13.2 percent of superintendents identified as female, compared to today's nearly 24 percent. Even with a low response rate, these trends show growth year-over-year. Hiring incentives, mentoring programs, and school board guidance can all help further close the gap, but these interventions must become a priority. While women may lead the classroom, too many are still shut out from the district.

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Where Are All The Female Superintendents? - Ahead of the Heard

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From Randi Weingarten to Betsy DeVos, to Michelle Rhee and Kaya Henderson, some of the biggest names in education policy on both sides of the aisle are women. The majority of teachers (76 percent), too, identify as female. But new survey results from the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) show that about 77 percent ...

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Boys will be superintendents: School leadership as a gendered profession

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Boys will be superintendents: School leadership as a gendered profession

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Kappan, a respected education journal, published an article with multiple authors--one of which is a veteran school director who "observed this gendered career system over three decades and in more than 200 public schools across the United States." This article more than the previous delves into the history of the teaching profession as seen as largely female work while school leadership (administration) historically was carved as a pathway for males who coached sports teams. The article goes on to cite cultural biases based on historic gender roles as a reason for the low representation of women in the top position of a school district.

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Why do men still fill most district leadership positions, and what can be done about it?
Just as a fish does not realize it lives in water, school leaders and education policy makers often fail to see that even after decades of mainstream acceptance of equal opportunity workplaces, public education careers and promotion pipelines continue to be shaped by narrow gender norms.

As a longtime academic and elected school board member, one of us (Robert Maranto) has observed this gendered career system over three decades and in more than 200 public schools across the United States. Today, as in past years, when he asks female education leaders about their career paths, they often mention that they left a previous job to escape local norms that barred them from promotion beyond a certain level - but not a single male education leader has ever said the same. And when he asks male leaders about the women with whom they work, he sometimes hears disparaging comments (such as the secondary school principal who said, referring to an award-winning vice principal he mentored, "She's one of the few women who can handle secondary").

In short, despite existing laws and mandates, many K-12 school systems still have a glass ceiling. To create more equitable opportunities will likely require a broad shift in beliefs and attitudes about gender and leadership. The first step to changing attitudes, however, is to recognize the issue, how it came to be, and why it matters.
Gender and school leadership
In 19th-century America, both teaching and school leadership were mainly feminine pursuits, in part because most people considered women better at nurturing children, but also because local school boards could get away with paying women less. Eventually, however, progressives sought to professionalize educational leadership with larger, bureaucratic schools led by credentialed principals and superintendents (Callahan, 1962; Lucas, 1999; Tyack, 1974). At a time when professional meant male, this bureaucratization and professionalization of schools meant replacing female principals and superintendents with men.

As Kate Rousmaniere (2013) details in her social history of the principalship, graduate programs providing educational leadership credentials served as an increasingly common career pathway for men, particularly veterans who returned from World War II and attended graduate school on the GI Bill. In addition, the emerging field of athletic coaching not only attracted many men to jobs in education but also gave them clear routes to principal and superintendent posts. Rousmaniere observes that:

The work of athletic coaching - communication, authority, disciplinary training of students, and public relations - aligned with the emerging professional identity of the new principal and, in a happy coincidence, provided the masculine image that appealed to both the public and to school reformers. (p. 101)

Thus, by the 1970s, researchers found that nearly 80 percent of school superintendents had coached athletic teams earlier in their careers (Rousmaniere, 2013).

As a result, explains Rousmaniere, the numbers of women in school and district leadership declined through most of the 20th century. For example, the percentage of elementary school principal posts held by women fell from 55% in 1928 to 20% in 1973. Since high school enrollments were rare in the early part of the century, and secondary leadership positions were already seen as relatively prestigious, the number of women in high school leadership was always low, even in the 1920s, but by mid-century it fell to just 1%. By the 1960s, Rousmaniere notes, "It seemed to be the natural order of things that women taught and men managed" (p. 102).

Today, the outlook for women in leadership is significantly better, but there's still a serious imbalance. For example, using data on more than 7,500 public school principals from the U.S. Department of Education 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey and additional published sources, we recently found that while 90% of elementary teachers are women, only 66% of elementary principals are women. In secondary schools, meanwhile, women make up 63% of teachers but just 48% of principals.

Before becoming principals, men and women are about equally likely to have served as department heads, vice principals, and club advisers. In two key respects, however, their paths to the principalship differ. Women are twice as likely as men to have prior service as curricular specialists (31.3% of women and 16% of men), and men are three times as likely (52.8% of men and 16.5% of women) to have had prior experience as athletic coaches (Maranto, Teodoro, et al., 2017). Overall, men are proportionately more likely to gain promotion to principal, and to do so more quickly than women. In traditional public schools, male principals have taught a mean of only 10.7 years before becoming principal compared to 13.2 years for women.

The imbalance continues beyond the principalship, too. Nationwide, for example, just 24.1% of superintendents are women; further, and zeroing in on a single state, a survey of 2,100 principals in Texas revealed that male principals are 17% more likely than females to report that they plan to seek promotion to a superintendent post (Maranto, Teodoro, et al., 2017).
Work histories, school boards, and career outlooks
A closer look at the typical career paths of men and women in education shows that the pipeline to district-level leadership is narrower for roles that are dominated by women, particularly the elementary school principalship. One plausible explanation is that leaders of high schools (disproportionately men) tend to be perceived as better candidates for superintendent (Adams & Christenson, 2000; Sargent, 2001), given that high schools are typically larger institutions with bigger budgets, more staff and students, larger facilities, more differentiated structures and missions, and (partly due to athletics) far more community visibility. Further, the size of high schools requires principals to play stereotypically masculine roles leading and managing adults, rather than stereotypically feminine roles building relationships with individual young children.

The relatively large percentage of female principals with backgrounds in curriculum, compared to the large percentage of men with coaching backgrounds, may provide additional hints as to why so few women attain the superintendent post. As a participant and observer in school board meetings, Maranto has seen very few discussions about teaching or curricular matters but many about budget, athletics, construction, transportation, attendance zones, and school safety. Similarly, as school board sympathizer and former board member Gene Maeroff (2010) writes, classroom instruction (the schooling activity most heavily dominated by women) is "invisible" to most school board members (p. 18). While they rarely visit classrooms, they often attend athletic contests and frequently win election or appointment with the help of athletic booster clubs. Further, and as Maranto has witnessed, superintendents may discourage interaction between (mainly female) teachers and board members to preclude teachers from providing on-the-ground information that can be used to evaluate the superintendent's performance. Indeed, Maranto notes that in some Arkansas districts, the materials used to train board members explicitly discourage unauthorized communications between teachers and board members, referring to them as "outside the chain of command."

Maeroff's (2010) summary of national survey data indicates that the three most important criteria school board members use to evaluate their superintendents are the board-superintendent relationship, employee morale, and student safety (p. 69). Management comes next, essentially tied with standardized test scores. Similarly, Robert Maranto, Julie Trivitt, Malachi Nichols, and Angela Watson (2017) found that superintendent contracts seldom mention academic duties or goals, focusing instead on general management duties or formal job requirements such as degrees and work hours. In short, student academic learning has little effect on school board evaluations of superintendents. Given the relatively large percentage of female principals with curriculum backgrounds, this relative disregard of instruction bodes ill for gender equity.
The culture of educators
In addition to the gender biases of school boards and other elites, there may also be ideological and cultural causes for the underrepresentation of women in educational leadership. For example, when Matthew Woessner and April Kelly-Woessner (2009) analyzed data from national surveys of thousands of college undergraduates by UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute (HERI), they found that conservatives are more likely than liberals to prioritize having children, a choice that has a far greater impact on women's professional advancement than on men's.

Given men's and women's differing experiences as educators - men gravitating toward coaching, women toward curriculum and instruction - female principals and superintendents may tend to be in a better position to provide effective instructional leadership.

Using a later HERI survey, Matthew Woessner (personal communication, June 13, 2018) found that women comprise 94% of elementary education majors, a group that stands out as relatively conservative - among fourth-year college women majoring in elementary education, self-reported conservatives outnumber liberals 28% to 22%, while in other majors, liberals outnumber conservatives 41% to 20%. In fact, female elementary education majors are more conservative than are male undergraduates in general (29% of whom identify as liberal, 28% as conservative).

As a profession, teaching is relatively family-friendly, with work hours coinciding with school hours, relatively generous leave policies (in part to make up for low pay), and, in many school systems, cultural norms for women (but not men) to take off multiple years while providing child care. Given the traditional gender roles embraced by many conservatives, we suspect that disproportionate numbers of female elementary educators choose to remain in teaching roles, while their husbands are more likely to pursue more lucrative and prestigious leadership posts. Women choosing education careers, particularly in elementary education, may seek more traditional roles, conceptualizing themselves as part of a household unit rather than as sole actors (an identity not antithetical to certain feminist perspectives; Williams, 2000). Relatedly, in some school systems, it is standard practice for high-level male (but not female or LGBTQ+) administrators to obtain teaching or other staff jobs for their spouses, often as an informal condition of initial employment.
What is to be done?
So why does this imbalance matter, especially if so many women are choosing not to pursue leadership positions? For one thing, gendered educational leadership career paths violate 21st-century workplace norms of gender equity and likely conflict with merit-based personnel systems. Moreover, given men's and women's differing experiences as educators - men gravitating toward coaching, women toward curriculum and instruction - female principals and superintendents may tend to be in a better position to provide effective instructional leadership. In addition, empirical research has identified gendered patterns of managerial behavior among school superintendents, with female superintendents associated with somewhat better academic performance (Johansen, 2007; Meier, O'Toole, & Goerdel, 2006). In short, gendered educational leadership pipelines may offer one explanation for the limited success of the past several decades of elite-based school reform aimed at academic excellence and equity.

To promote greater equity in professional advancement, policy makers and intellectuals may be tempted to call for the passage of new laws and guidelines. However, while such mandates tend to make headlines, top-down directives from Washington, D.C., and state capitals often prove to be counterproductive means of combatting structural discrimination (e.g., Buck, 2010; Gillon, 2002). Echoing thinkers like Jonathan Haidt (2012) and Rick Hess (2017), we urge caution. In a diverse, multicultural polity where local districts provide most schooling, local norms regarding gendered career paths may represent how women and men in those communities manage legitimate trade-offs between "family values," however defined, and workplace needs; hence, we suspect that it will be more effective to pursue reforms incrementally, with subsidiarity in mind, and through persuasion more than coercion.

So, with that in mind, what might reforms to the gendered career track look like?

First, as Joan Williams (2000) and, more recently, Matthew Woessner and April Kelly-Woessner (2009) argue, family-friendly workplace policies have disproportionately positive impacts on women, possibly making promotion less gendered. Yet the education workplace is already family-friendly at the classroom level, which means that more significant reform must come at the principal and superintendent levels, including changes that make public schools less hierarchical, with distributed leadership models that rely more on teacher leadership, thus reducing the power of policy makers. Maranto (2015) offers examples of certain charter schools in which teachers rather than administrators make key budget and personnel decisions. Unfortunately, school boards and other policy makers accustomed to working through more conventional hierarchical leadership structures will likely oppose such efforts to make high-level leadership roles less demanding and more family-friendly.

A second option is for influential organizations to push schools and districts to change the ways in which they conduct their everyday operations. For example, the National School Boards Association could urge members governing large districts to interview at least one woman when superintendent posts come open (taking after the National Football League's "Rooney Rule," named after late Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney, which aims to increase the percentage of Black coaches).

Third, given the relative dearth of evidence that educational leadership programs are effective in preparing leaders (Hess, 2013), opening more such posts to those without doctorates might increase the pool of female applicants, since women are less likely to have the time and connections to attain doctoral degrees.

On the whole, though, we would argue that the first and most important step will be to raise awareness among school boards and other policy makers of the need to bring more women into leadership. If we value academic excellence and gender equity, public school leadership posts must not just go to the boys.
References
Adams, K.S. & Christenson, S.L. (2000). Trust and the family-school relationship examination of parent-teacher differences in elementary and secondary grades. Journal of School Psychology, 38 (5), 477-497.

Buck, J.S. (2010). Acting white. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Callahan, R.E. (1962). Education and the cult of efficiency. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Gillon, S.M. (2002). That's not what we meant to do: Reform and its consequences in 20th century America. New York, NY: Norton.

Haidt, J. (2012). The righteous mind: Why good people are divided by politics and religion. New York, NY: Pantheon.

Hess, F.M. (2013). Cagebusting leadership. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

Hess, F.M. (2017). Letters to a young education reformer. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

Johansen, M.S. (2007). The effect of female strategic managers on organizational performance. Public Organization Review, 7 (3), 269-279.

Lucas, C.J. (1999). Teacher education in America. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press.

Maeroff, G.I. (2010). School boards in America: A flawed exercise in democracy. New York, NY: Palgrave/Macmillan.

Maranto, R. (2015). Did the teachers destroy the school? Public entrepreneurship as creation and adaptation. Journal of School Leadership, 25 (1), 69-101.

Maranto, R., Teodoro, M.P., Carroll, K., & Cheng, A. (2017).Gendered ambition: Career advancement in public management. ERN Public Policy Centers Research Paper Series, 9 (3).

Maranto, R., Trivitt, J., Nichols, M., & Watson, A. (2017). No contractual obligation to improve education: School boards and their superintendents. Politics and Policy, 45 (6).

Meier, K.J., O'Toole, L.J., & Goerdel, H.T. (2006). Management activity and program performance: Gender as management capital. Public Administration Review, 66 (1), 24-36.

Rousmaniere, K. (2013). The principal's office: A social history of the American school principal. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Sargent, P. (2001). Real men or real teachers? Contradictions in the lives of men elementary school teachers. Harriman, TN: Men's Studies Press.

Tyack, D.B. (1974). The one best system. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Williams, J.C. (2000). Unbending gender: why family and work conflict and what to do about it. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Woessner, M.C. & Kelly-Woessner, A. (2009). Left pipeline: Why conservatives don't get doctorates. In R. Maranto, R.E. Redding, & F.M. Hess (Eds.), The politically correct university (pp. 38-59). Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute.

Citation: Maranto, R., Carroll, K., Cheng, A., & Teodoro, M.P. (2018). Boys will be superintendents: School leadership as a gendered profession.  Phi Delta Kappan, 100 (2), 12-15.

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Boys will be superintendents: School leadership as a gendered profession - kappanonline.org

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Why do men still fill most district leadership positions, and what can be done about it?

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Most PA school superintendents are men; women earn more on average

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Most PA school superintendents are men; women earn more on average

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This is recording of a local NPR show that focuses on PA rather than national data. While 28% of women ascend to Superintendent's position in PA, more than 73% of classroom teachers are women. Women are also more likely than their male counterparts to have a doctoral degree when in this position. Those interviewed highlighted the importance of pressure at home preventing women from choosing the role as well as the male bias in potentially choosing women for leadership positions both in pipeline for superintendency and for the position itself.

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PA Post analyzed statewide superintendent salary data

Walk into a Pennsylvania public school classroom and you'll probably see a woman teaching the class. In fact, 73 percent of teachers in Pennsylvania schools are female. However, the number of women teachers hasn't translated into females becoming school superintendents. Only 28 percent of superintendents are women, and there are Pennsylvania counties where there are no female superintendents.

On the other hand, female superintendents are paid more than their male counterparts on average, possibly because more women who are superintendents have their doctoral degrees.

researched and reported on Pennsylvania school superintendent salaries, and reporter Ed Mahon joined Tuesday's Smart Talk with more of what he found.
Key points
1:10 - Genesis of the story

3:45 - Factors determining the low number of women

7:23 - Is money the main motivator?

14:30 - There are some counties with no female superintendents

16:02 - Caller anecdote and comment

18:18 - Women versus men principals

22.38 - Suggestions to increase numbers

PA Post Picks

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Smart Talk: Most Pa. school superintendents are men; women earn more on average | PA Post

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Walk into a Pennsylvania public school classroom and you'll probably see a woman teaching the class. In fact, 73 percent of teachers in Pennsylvania schools are female. However, the number of women teachers hasn't translated into females becoming school superintendents. Only 28 percent of superintendents are women, and there are Pennsylvania counties where there are no female superintendents.

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African American Women in New York State Who Overcame Barriers to Become Superintendents of Schools

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African American Women in New York State Who Overcame Barriers to Become Superintendents of Schools

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This is a dissertation focused more specifically on superintendent women of color specifically in New York State. In the first chapter, the author emphasizes the skills and cultural competency women of color bring to the role of Superintendent which is crucial as the student populations are increasingly populated with students of color. This article highlights the double challenge of women who face both gender and racial bias in the process of pursuing and achieving superintendency. It also explores how the feminist movement often further marginalized black women rather than elevating them into leadership positions.

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Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Executive Leadership

First Supervisor

Frances Wills

Second Supervisor

Cassandra Hyacinthe

Abstract

African American women educators who possess the leadership characteristics to become superintendents of schools in New York State are not rising to top positions at the same rate as women of other racial and ethnic groups. There is limited research on the barriers and challenges experienced by African American women as well as the strategies that aided in their maintenance of the position. This phenomenological qualitative research study examined the perceptions of African American women who successfully obtained the position of superintendents of schools in New York State at suburban public schools, the barriers and challenges they overcame, and the strategies that made them successful. The findings aimed to highlight the barriers, the challenges, and the strategies as well as to offer recommendations to school boards and educational institutions to aid in increasing the numbers of African American women superintendents of schools in order to ensure a more diverse workforce.

Recommended Citation

West, Augustina Biney Amissah, "African American Women in New York State Who Overcame Barriers to Become Superintendents of Schools" (2018). Education Doctoral. Paper 394.
https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/education_etd/394

Please note that the Recommended Citation provides general citation information and may not be appropriate for your discipline. To receive help in creating a citation based on your discipline, please visit http://libguides.sjfc.edu/citations.

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African American Women in New York State Who Overcame Barriers to Become Superintendents of Schools

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African American women educators who possess the leadership characteristics to become superintendents of schools in New York State are not rising to top positions at the same rate as women of other racial and ethnic groups. There is limited research on the barriers and challenges experienced by African American women as well as the strategies that aided in their maintenance of the position.

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Invisibly Visible: A Study of African-American Females and their Ascent to the Superintendency

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Invisibly Visible: A Study of African-American Females and their Ascent to the Superintendency

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Another dissertation focusing on the intersection of race and gender and the disproportional effect of women of color in the Superintendent's position, but focused on Missouri rather than NY. This dissertation also focuses on the "feminized role of the teacher rooted in the assumption of women as nurturers and men as leaders and problem-solvers." The author points out that social politics add a layer of challenge for black women entering this role as well as lack of mentors and sponsors to promote their leadership through an established system.

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Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Education, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies

Graduate Advisor

Matthew D. Davis, Ph.D.

Committee

Thomasina Hassler

Abstract

African-American women leading school districts as public school superintendents of schools is rare. It is even more infrequent for multiple African-American women to serve in the position of superintendent of schools in the same state. This historical qualitative study investigated and documented the history of African-American women who served in the position of public superintendent of schools in the state of Missouri. Research on the topic of African-American female superintendents is scarce. This study contributed to the growing body of research focused on the personal stories and experiences of African-American women who served and continue to serve as superintendents. The researcher documented factors and experiences the participants perceived as influential in their ascent to the position. Seven African-American females, either former or current superintendents in the state of Missouri, participated in this study. Personal interviews, along with a semi-structured interview schedule, served as the primary data collection method used to capture data for this study. A Black feminist thought lens was used to examine barriers and experiences of oppression. Findings from this research identified the participants' various paths to the superintendency, suggested that barriers of race, gender and oppression existed, highlighted perceived accomplishments, provided explanations for why multiple African-American females have served as public school superintendents in the state of Missouri, and proposed recommendations for aspiring African-American females interested in becoming a superintendent.

Recommended Citation

Hinds, Tracy M., "Invisibly Visible: A Study of African-American Females and their Ascent to the Superintendency" (2016). Dissertations. 74.
https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation/74

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Invisibly Visible: A Study of African-American Females and their Ascent to the Superintendency

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African-American women leading school districts as public school superintendents of schools is rare. It is even more infrequent for multiple African-American women to serve in the position of superintendent of schools in the same state. This historical qualitative study investigated and documented the history of African-American women who served in the position of public superintendent of schools in the state of Missouri.

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Where are the Women in School Administration? Issues of Access, Acculturation, Advancement, Advocacy

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Where are the Women in School Administration? Issues of Access, Acculturation, Advancement, Advocacy

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Published in the Journal of Women in Educational Leadership (2006), this article was written by three female academics in Maine. It emphasizes the pathway women tend to follow in their careers and how it deters them from access to the most powerful positions in a school district--high school principle and superintendent (the former leading often to the latter). Women are less likely to be willing to move to various districts in order to climb the professional ladder, seeing their value in the leadership role as deriving from their years in one place earning credibility through relationship-building and trust. Other challenges to access include lack of a formal network of sponsors and mentors, and a perception that women needed to adopt male characteristics to fit into administration. The suggestions at the end for how women should address challenges is interesting and strikes me as indicative of the dated nature of this article.

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Panel of Women Superintendents Share Personal Insights on Leading in a Male-Dominated World

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Panel of Women Superintendents Share Personal Insights on Leading in a Male-Dominated World

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This article was written by a student intern summarizing a conference panel of women discussing their role as a minority in the position. Interestingly, in the state of Hawaii, the gender disparity is not as stark with "21 female and 29 male state superintendents." Panelists highlighted self-doubt and their struggles to feel confident in the role--a condition perhaps created by societal pressures and stereotypes around gender and race.

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"The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them."

Sharon Contreras, superintendent of Guilford County Schools in Greensboro, N.C., recited that Ida B. Wells quote during an AASA conference panel on Friday titled "A No-Holds-Barred Conversation with Female Superintendents."

Five women superintendents shared their personal experiences and offered advice on working in a professional field in which the highest leadership levels are male-dominated.

Christina Kishimoto, state superintendent of Hawaii, facilitated what she termed a panel program "for women by women." Kishimoto, who said she has experienced pay inequity, presented data showing gender inequality in the U.S. education system.

Statistics she cited from 2018 showed 72 percent of teachers but only 14 percent of superintendents were female. Although the disparity is not as apparent at the state level, with 21 female and 29 male state superintendents, there is still a significant gap.

"It's all about trying to find a balance of representation," Kishimoto said. "You have to open the door in order to open conversations in honest ways. It's hard to ignore once you start opening those doors."

Addressing this imbalance is a matter of overcoming societal constraints and building a strategic career pathway, according to Barbara Jenkins, superintendent of Orange County Public Schools in Orlando, Fla.

"Women are giving and supporting by nature, but so many females are capable of doing the work," Jenkins said. "Now, I have to tell the truth, stepping out of that supporting role was terrifying at first. But you have to bear that responsibility to show that you deserve to be there."

Presenters also spoke of the self-doubt that many women in leadership roles face.

Having immigrated to America from Mexico at age 7, Lupita Hightower, superintendent of the Tolleson Elementary School District in Tolleson, Ariz., said she initially struggled with a lack of confidence and often heard comments that "made my blood boil." She advised conference attendees to build a strong support system and "choose who to listen to."

Similarly, Carey Wright, state superintendent of Mississippi, encouraged women to "be strong in your own self-awareness" and recognize the value of diversity.

Throughout the panel, speakers also addressed issues of gender and racial inequality. "You can't speak about women in superintendencies without speaking about women of color in superintendencies," Contreras said.

As the first woman of color to become superintendent in Syracuse, N.Y., Contreras emphasized awareness of "intersectionality" and urged women in positions of power to help other women.

"Leadership is hard. For women, it's like a labyrinth. If you don't have friends who hold you and one another up, you may not make it," Contreras said. "We have to consistently bring to light these inequities. The only way is by speaking the truth and taking power to action."
Read Jeanné Collins's blog post about this event. (Sarah Aie is a junior at Walnut High School in Walnut, Calif. and an intern with AASA's Conference Daily Online.)

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Panel of Women Superintendents Share Personal Insights on Leading in a Male-Dominated World | AASA NCE 2020

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"The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them." Sharon Contreras, superintendent of Guilford County Schools in Greensboro, N.C., recited that Ida B. Wells quote during an AASA conference panel on Friday titled "A No-Holds-Barred Conversation with Female Superintendents."

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Video Series on Women in School Leadership

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Video Series on Women in School Leadership

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These short videos bring faces, names, and stories to the statistics I've been reading in more academic or news articles. In one video, Traci Davis identifies the barrier and challenges of board politics, which from my work, is fairly consistent from all superintendents. However, women face these challenges even more as they combat biases on top of broad challenges in the role.

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AASA Women in School Leadership Initiative - Resources