One of the prevailing notions within American culture is the idea that women are prevalent in leadership positions within business, politics, and higher education. The reality, however, is that while women make up slightly more than 50% of the population, we are under-represented in these institutions. There are fewer than 20 female CEOs of the…

In this article, the author discusses how women have struggled to be acknowledged as leaders in society. Setting herself as an example, the author relates her experience of leadership as a young mother of four. She stresses that her experience enabled her to understand the inner conflicts that women deal with and to accept that whether a woman…

The most promising sights of spring in Nebraska this year were two conferences for women. One event, sponsored by Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, was a Women's History Month Tea. A second conference was the meeting of the Nebraska Women in Higher Education. These two events suggest that there is a continuing interest in women's leadership…

According to the American Council on Education study "The American College President: 2007 Edition" only 23% of college presidencies were held by women as late as 2006. While the number of female executive officers has doubled since 1986, progress in achieving the presidency has been undeniably slow for women. To better understand a woman's road…

Three women higher education Chief Information Officers (CIOs) provided their lived experiences and perspectives on barriers they encountered and methods used to overcome the barriers as they pursued and achieved their current positions. The conceptual framework intersects gendered organizational theory, feminist standpoint theory, and…

The purpose of this study was to investigate gender bias in pre-service principals using the Gender-Leader Implicit Association Test. Analyses of student-learning narratives revealed how students made sense of gender bias (biased or not-biased) and how each reacted to evidence (surprised or not-surprised). Two implications were: (1) the need for…

This research provides insight into the status of female administrators from a particular geographical area in rural America. Findings reveal that some progress has been made across the United States but there is more effort needed especially in the High Plains states. The numbers of females in administrative positions in the High Plains states…

The superintendent is the highest ranking administrator in a school district (Katz, 2005). Despite increasing trends of women advancing in the fields of business and government, the superintendent position in school districts still has relatively few women (Brunner & Grogan, 2007; Dana & Bourisaw, 2006; Glass, 2000; Grogan & Brunner,…

Professional networking is critical for school leaders. Networking has emerged in the literature as one of the major needs in attracting and retaining quality school leaders. There is evidence that professional networking offers a system for women to enhance their career opportunities. However, the evidence shows there are limited professional…

In this article, the authors show the perspective on women's leadership in Europe. The authors present the European data on the educational status of girls and women at schools and universities and in academic careers. Data from Germany is presented as an example to provide evidence of some details. First, the authors point out four contradictions…

School districts are faced with challenges resulting from the changing demographics of the student population. Consequently, school districts are creating positive, multicultural learning environments. School districts intent on establishing multicultural learning environments should consider the contributions people of color, specifically women…

This study was designed to investigate whether significant differences exist among the perceptions of leadership behaviors of female principals in North Carolina using Bolman and Deal's (1984) four frames (structural, human resource, political, and symbolic) for analysis. Participants consisted of 1,245 female principals from elementary,middle,…

Women superintendents in one Midwestern state participated in this study of their personal demographics, professional qualifications and career paths, and demographics of districts and boards of education that hired them. Participants identified characteristics, skills, and barriers to women seeking superintendencies. Thirty-one of 36 women…

Women face unique challenges as superintendents. This study determined barriers women face as superintendents and elicited reasons why these women would consider leaving the superintendent's position. Thirty-nine PreK-12 women superintendents in Illinois participated in a web-based survey in January 2008. Survey items included information…

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…