Factors Affecting the Advancement of Women in School Administration

Women in the academic workplace work much harder to achieve their goals.

Qualified administrative leaders in the school system are becoming essential in today's society. Numerous schools across the country are having difficulty locating qualified administrative leaders. However, schools are not having difficulty because of a lack of qualified candidates but of the traditional patriarchal mindset that still dominates the academic system. Compared to their male coworkers, women in the academic workplace have found that advancing to administrative positions is much more difficult if not impossible.

External Factors

The majority of factors affecting working women are based on gender inequality.

The external factors that women face when attempting to advance in the school system stem from environmental, economical and political issues. Many women feel they must embody a certain role when they step into administrative shoes. They adopt masculine traits such as clothing and non-sentimental viewpoints. Most women have been forced to run a gauntlet of tedious jobs such as high-school principalships before being considered for superintendant positions. Multitudes of stakeholders, parents and even students hold the belief that women are good at teaching and men are good at administrating, which makes convincing a board of directors much more challenging.

Internal Factors

Women must first overcome personal obstacles before taking on the workplace.

The internal factors that women struggle with include psychological barriers such as deciding between the societal expectation and maternal need of taking care of a family or fulfilling their goal of running a school district. Another factor is that women are less likely to relocate after they have become administrators. Women also often over-prepare for administrative positions, which can be a drawback. Women go into the profession fully loaded with advanced degrees and years of experience and training, yet men without any experience are hired more often. This is because women are seen as either too intimidating for the school board or are considered to have waited too long to apply.

The Masculine Mindset

In order to be taken seriously, many women adopt a masculine persona.

There is no significant difference in the supervision of instructional programs and the management of administrative affairs between men and women. The most ominous factor leaving women outside the administrative workplace is society's gender norms. Apart from men, women don't often plan on being school administrators when they are in college. They make that decision later in life, and by the time a woman has made it to the top, she will most likely endure a lack of support from her employers, coworkers and the people around her. She may become socially isolated, yet she will have to retain the image of a leader.

The Path to the Top

More women are making their way to the top of academic administration.

A woman's advancement in a school system is more dependent on internal networks and sponsorships than education and experience. Working from the bottom as a teacher at an elementary school up to high-school principalships and central office positions has proven to be the most effective. Also, women are much more likely to keep their positions if they maintain a traditional conservative image.

References

• Youngstown State University; Personal and Institutional Factors Affecting School Administrators' Career Advancement Decisions; Charles W. Jeffords; 2008
• "Advancing Women in Leadership"; In Search of Leaders: Gender Factors in School Administration; Dianne L. Hoff et al.
• Texas Tech University; Perceptions of Factors Affecting Career Goal Attainment of School Administration Graduates; Nina M. Elliott; August 1986

Resources

• Scarlett Leads the Schoolhouse: Does Being Southern Matter?; Anna T. Hicks; 2000