This research intends to test the practice that Women of Color, or women who identify as a race other than white, do not receive fair and adequate opportunities to ascend to leadership roles. More specifically, Women of Color do not receive equitable opportunities in administrative positions in the K-12 educational system. Within this study,…

This qualitative research study explores the challenges encountered by five African American women who serve as high-ranking higher education administrators at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) in Pennsylvania as well as how they contend with these challenges. This study also uses an Intersectionality lens to explore the intersectionality of…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to explore the lived experiences of the mid-level female community college administrators in Pennsylvania, as well as explore the career pathways, aspirations, challenges, and opportunities for mid-level female community college administrators in Pennsylvania. For years, the focus of many…

Although 76% of teachers in the United States are women (Superville, 2016), only 55% of suburban principals are female (Bitterman, Golding, & Grey, 2013). This number decreases at the secondary level. In high schools, only 30% of administrators are female. This qualitative research study is designed to explore and describe the lived…

Women have played integral and instrumental roles in public education since its inception, yet women continue to be underrepresented in one major educational position, the superintendency. This study examined female principals in Western Pennsylvania and perceived barriers of these females in aspiring to the superintendency. Data for this study…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the importance of lifestyle factors including geographical relocation, accommodation for dual earner careers, and availability of family or non-family domestic help on the career choices of women assistant superintendents and superintendents in school districts in the USA. Women's access to the…

Women aspiring to be principals and superintendents in the U.S. public school system have little information concerning optimum career paths to leadership. This article considers recent research and theory regarding career planning in the context of K-12 schools, and the different approaches adopted by male and female aspirants. The choice of…

This study examined female underrepresentation in business schools among undergraduate students and faculty in a sample of universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and compares the findings to other public universities in Pennsylvania. We found that during the 1995-2008 period, when compared with other academic…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the barriers and facilitators to career advancement among women administrators occupying top-level positions, those occupying entry-level positions and those in non-administrative positions in both rural and urban public school districts in central Pennsylvania. The need to increase the awareness of the…

This narrative case study research project focused on African American women principals and the leadership qualities and competencies that they bring to an urban school setting. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of African American women principals and examine the influence of this past experience, identify common…

In this article, the author shares her career journey at Temple University, a major urban research university located in the heart of North Philadelphia. Temple is a place that believes in its mission of providing access to a quality education. After years of being in small or mid-sized isolated communities with black families accounting for less…

This article discusses the appointment of Dr. Drew Gilpin Faust as the first woman named president of Harvard University, which marks a diversity high point in the storied history of the nation's oldest university. At age 9, Faust famously wrote to U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower calling for an end to segregation. And in her current role as a…

Despite the passage of affirmative-action legislation over the last 25 years, the percentage of women school superintendents has increased at a very slow pace. This paper compares the results of three separate research studies that examined women superintendents in Pennsylvania. One study was conducted in 1985 and the other two were conducted in…

To obtain information from female school administrators about their career paths, mentoring, external barriers and strategies used to overcome them, and differences in attitude toward their careers since 5 years ago, 18 of 26 Pennsylvania administrators selected from a total population of 93 were interviewed. The women tended to follow staff…

A study was undertaken to investigate gender differences in the career paths of aspirant and incumbent certificate holders for line positions within educational administration. In October 1985, 1,338 Pennsylvania certificate holders were mailed a 4-page survey probing the areas of career pathways, job search strategies, time usage, mentor's…