Women Leading Systems

Abstract

"Amid reports of superintendent shortages and concerns about equal opportunity, what place do women superintendents occupy in today’s school districts? Are they sought after or are they struggling to break into a traditionally male-dominated profession? What qualities, if any, do they bring to the office that may make them more desirable as education leaders? Do women even aspire to the superintendency? To gather the most up-to-date, comprehensive information on women and the superintendency, AASA recently commissioned a nationwide study of women in the superintendency and women in central-office positions. Using the AASA membership database and data from Market Data Retrieval, 2,500 women superintendents were identified and mailed surveys. An additional 3,000 surveys were sent to women holding central-office positions of assistant superintendent or higher."