A Ph.D. candidate named Vergil Kenneth Ort once wrote a 250-page dissertation on The Role of the School Superintendent’s Wife. The ideal, Ort wrote, is a woman who “is able to meet and entertain … keeps (her) family presentable … provides (a) wholesome family life … has constructive interests and is a good listener.” Ort can be forgiven for assuming that a superintendent would be a man. He wrote his paper in 1955, when men could aspire to be doctors, lawyers, business leaders or school superintendents, while women were expected to be homemakers and could aspire to careers secondary to their spouses’ — nurse, secretary or teachers. That list almost never included superintendent.

Today, women occupy executive positions in business, government and academia. A woman has run for president and another serves as vice president. Yet, fewer than one-third of the nation’s 500 largest school districts are led by women, despite the fact that the teaching workforce is overwhelmingly female. Women continue to be passed over for leadership roles in education based on “questions about family responsibilities, stability and emotionality,” just as the Sarasota County School Board did to Marie Izquierdo nearly three years ago. This doesn’t just hurt women aspiring to leadership positions — it’s depleting the educator pipeline, increasing turnover and, in turn, negatively impacting students and their families.

In addition to the opportunity gap, there is a significant wage gap. According to the Council of the Great City Schools, the average female superintendent earns roughly $20,000 to $30,000 less than her male counterparts. When comparing salaries of all state superintendents, both elected and appointed, women make 12% less than men. Though 73% of elected superintendents are women, they make 26% less than their male counterparts.

Districts and states serious about hiring more women for leadership roles must:

  1. Create and promote support systems to prepare women for leadership.
  2. Rebalance the hiring process by requiring and promoting best practices.
  3. Provide family and well-being supports.
  4. Set public goals for female leadership and increase transparency.

     

  5. Ensure financial fairness.

Read the full article about women school district leaders by Julia Rafal-Baer at The 74.