Background: Though approximately 80% of teachers are women, they hold only about 50% of all principalships, and just a quarter of superintendent positions (Finnan and McCord, 2017; Robinson et al., 2017; Tienken, 2021; White, 2023). When women do take on leadership positions, evidence suggests they tend to work in districts serving students with…

Women are underrepresented in the superintendency of public schools. They are also underrepresented in the research about superintendents. Researchers report that male superintendents have been studied in terms of demographic makeup, stresses, career paths, leadership traits, and other indicators of success. Only in recent years has there been a…

Institutions of higher education (IHE) are increasingly prioritizing diversity, necessitating the recruitment of more faculty and staff leaders from marginalized populations to better support the university and underrepresented minority student groups. However, Muslim women leaders, as a religious minority group, have been largely overlooked in…

Over half of college campuses in the United States can expect their president to step down in the next five years (American Council on Education, 2023). The new leaders who assume these vacant roles will be expected to lead institutions through difficult and unexpected crisis situations. Campus crises can arise from political or financial…

This study explored the motivators and inhibitors experienced by women pursuing high school administration positions. Additionally, it sought to identify the reasons behind the gender discrepancies to support improved hiring practices and job requirements and inform districts and states about areas for improvement to attract and retain qualified…

Have you ever encountered a leader who just had the "it" factor? They always knew the right thing to do, and it almost felt like they could read the minds of others and anticipate their needs? What if I told you that these are also things that can be learned and strengthened within oneself based on the emotional intelligence framework?…

In this Voices: Reflective Accounts of Education essay, the author delves into the intersection of race, gender, and education, exploring the experiences and challenges faced by Black women leaders and daughters in the Academy. This piece emerges from the author's research and lived experiences. The breadth and depth of a little-addressed…

There is a growing interest in the underlying mechanisms affecting female leaders in higher education. And this paper examines the problem by focusing specifically on Polish public universities which historically stands out by particularly low number of female university rectors. The core of the study is based on 15 in-depth expert interviews with…

This qualitative study utilized a phenomenological approach to examine the lived experiences female educational leaders' face, which may influence their career aspirations. Phenomenology allowed the researcher to explore the commonalities across female educational leaders' experiences. Female educational leaders from two school districts were…

Since at least the publication of "A Nation at Risk" (1983), the United States has used competition and top-down approaches in seeking student achievement in the country. Twenty years ago, to create a pathway for the lowest achieving schools in the country to have a clear path for improvement, the turnaround school movement was…

"Let it be known to all who enter here that Christ is the reason for this school, the unseen but ever-present Teacher in its classes, the model for its children, the inspiration for its staff." - Anonymous. This study explored the journeys and experiences of women leaders in Catholic secondary schools, focusing on their challenges and…

The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experiences of Black/ African American women aspiring, serving, or having previously served in the role of Superintendent of Schools in the State of Texas. Additionally, the study investigated the perceived barriers and challenges that impacted the participant's ascent to the superintendency, and…

The intersectional identities of African American women leaders come with challenges and obstacles that few thoroughly comprehend. This phenomenological study sought to understand the impact of intersectionality on the leadership styles and journey of African American women in K-12 district leadership. Historically, leadership literature…

This qualitative study explored the perceptions, challenges, and lived experiences of women, in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, holding executive level leadership positions to inform tailored support strategies. As female educators aspire to higher levels of leadership in schools and districts, limited avenues of structured informal and formal…

Background/purpose: This study represents the first comprehensive study investigating the beliefs about the glass ceiling (GCB) of women working in Kazakh universities. It aims to examine the theoretical validity of the multidimensional structure of GCB in Kazakhstan's higher education context. Materials/methods: The study evaluated the glass…