The State of Superintendency and Gender in Texas
Our Ideal Future: Texas Women Leading Education
Texas has more than 5 million public school students spread over 1,000 school districts. Women make up the vast majority of our teachers, but they hit a glass ceiling on their way to becoming superintendent. Our research identifies extraordinary gender disparities in the makeup of K-12 school district leadership throughout Texas:
Women are a minority in school district leadership
More than 75% of teachers are women, but barely 25% of school district superintendents are women.
Our Call to Action
How we recruit new superintendents reinforces that disparity
Women face uneven—and unseen—barriers to achieving district leadership
Regardless of who conducts the process—search firms, law firms, school boards— there is no process where women reach parity in hiring.
Texas needs to call on the full range of its professional talent to lead our school districts. Together, we can lead the way by creating a network of women leaders and supporting them on their path to superintendency
To get there, policymakers, practitioners, and other stakeholders must:
The good ol’ boys network is real: interviews with women leaders repeatedly cite informal connections men have to move ahead in their careers. 2 4 1 3 5
Prioritize gender equity in recruitment and selection
Make the search and hiring process transparent
Our Data and Research
Establish policies that support families and contribute to general wellbeing
Compensate women leaders fairly
Foster systems to support women and women of color seeking leadership
Scan the QR code to view The State of Superintendency and Gender in Texas report for more about our research and how we can make progress toward gender equality.
For more info:
