Only 30 percent of the nation’s largest school districts are led by women, and they continue to face unique challenges and stressors compared to their male colleagues, according to the annual Women Leading Ed Insight Survey, released in February. This percentage has largely stayed stagnant over the past decade.
According to responses gathered from more than 140 women representing district and state superintendents and high-level leaders in K-12, serving over 10.1 million students in over 100 state and local educational agencies in 37 states, gender bias continues to impact women leaders’ physical and mental health, career pathways and compensation.
Women Leading Ed founder and CEO Julia Rafal-Baer noted that in other, lower ranking K-12 education careers, women vastly outnumber men but lack access to leadership opportunities in public education.
“While women hold almost eight of 10 teaching positions in U.S. public schools, they occupy only 30 percent of superintendencies,” Rafal-Baer said in the report. “Even when superintendent positions open up — and they continue to do so at historic highs each year — the carousel of leadership continues to overlook the most obvious bench of talent. Leaders who are highly qualified, battle-tested, utterly fearless, and whom we can no longer afford to overlook. The women of our nation.”
Key findings
Bias and differing expectations
- Women say they have had to make career sacrifices their male colleagues would not need to make, such as postponing parenthood, but are still overlooked for advancement. Additionally, most women reported feeling pressure to dress, speak or behave a certain way because of being a woman in a senior leadership role.
- One woman surveyed recalled a time when “two board members commented on how absolutely ridiculous it was for me to wear tennis shoes with my dress,” prior to a board meeting. However, “Neither of those board members made the same comment to the male colleague who also had tennis shoes on with his suit and was standing right next to me,” she noted.
- Women’s professional judgment and authority are also routinely challenged — 63 percent of all respondents indicated their decisions and capabilities are questioned more frequently than male colleagues, and 76 percent of current superintendents reported the same. Additional, uncompensated workload expectations are the norm.
“Women’s expertise and authority are also routinely questioned, a challenge that is particularly pronounced for sitting superintendents,” the report stated. “Additionally, women report another troubling pattern: women leaders are expected to take on extra, unpaid responsibilities. These include unpaid, additional administrative tasks — such as note-taking and event planning — that male colleagues are rarely assigned.”
Stress and burnout
- Just 40 percent of women education leaders rate their health as “good,” and mental health challenges are growing. “Ratings are slightly lower for mental health — and declined five percentage points from last year’s Insight Survey,” the report states.
- The survey found 93 percent of women leaders cited burnout as a major problem, and 58 percent of all respondents and 63 percent of superintendents reported contemplating leaving the field. Among those considering leaving, 88 percent said they think about it at least monthly. For 10 percent, the thought crossed their mind daily.
- Impacts of bias on career pathways and compensation
- Women education leaders pursue advanced credentials at notably high rates, with 71 percent of superintendents and 54 percent of all respondents in education leadership positions holding doctoral degrees. This significant achievement for many was driven by perceived pressure rather than choice. A little over 70 percent of superintendent respondents reported feeling moderate to extreme pressure to obtain these degrees, and 94 percent attribute that to their gender.
- The professional development and support systems for women also show concerning gaps, the report states. Few respondents report having received coaching (58 percent), mentorship (44 percent) or sponsorship (22 percent).
Compensation negotiation continues to be a significant challenge too, with 32 percent of respondents saying that they have never negotiated compensation, and of those who had, 45 percent said gender influenced the outcome.
- To address the myriad findings outlined in the report, Women Leading Ed is advocating for:
- Intentional support systems to prepare women for leadership roles
- Fair hiring processes that prioritize and implement best practices
- Family and well-being supports to address underlying inequalities in gender role stereotypes and the distribution of unpaid work, especially as more women take on primary responsibility for child care and elder care
- Public goals for leadership and increased employment transparency
- Financial parity to ensure women are paid the same as men for the same work
