The Impact of School Board Diversity on the Hiring of Women in the Superintendency
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Date
2024-08-07
Authors
Harlan, Lisa
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
Lisa L. HarlanDoctor of Education in Educational Leadership
The Impact of School Board Diversity on the Hiring of Women in the Superintendency
Women continue to be underrepresented in the superintendent role in public school systems in the United States. The path to the superintendency requires candidates to pass through a series of gates controlled by school board members. Qualified women seek superintendent jobs and are not passing through the gates at the same rate as men. This quantitative study examined the potential relationship between the race, gender, and level of education of school board members and the gender of the superintendent they hired in an attempt to lend insight into the complex issue of gender disparity at the highest levels of leadership in public education. Over 7,000 active school board members were invited to participate in an electronic survey that collected information about their demographics, their participation in a superintendent hiring process, and attitudinal data about women in leadership. Over 700 responses were recorded. Data were divided into two groups categorized by the gender of the superintendent hired, and a Chi-Square analysis was used to analyze the relationships in gender, race, level of education, and the gender of the superintendent hired. While the study yielded inconclusive results, it reveals insights that contribute to our understanding of the complex factors involved in women achieving the superintendent role. It highlights the absence of key systems and the need for centralized, standardized, longitudinal data to further examine impacts and outcomes. The study unveils potential next steps for administrator associations, state education departments, and communities interested in achieving gender parity in the superintendent role. Keywords: women in the superintendency, gatekeeper theory, gender bias, school board hiring, superintendent hiring process, role of school boards, gender bias in leadership, implicit bias
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Keywords
gender bias in leadership, school board hiring, school boards as gatekeepers, Women in the superintendency