Aspirations: Systemic Influences on Women of Color’s Desire to Pursue the Superintendency

• In Event: Pathways and Promise: The Struggles, Triumphs, and Everything In Between of Female Superintendents of Color

Abstract

Women outnumber men at every level of the K-12 career ladder, except for the superintendency (White, 2023a). While women comprise 77% of K-12 public school teachers and more than half of school principals, only 26% of public K-12 superintendents are female (Miles Nash & Grogan, 2022). The disproportionate number of men in the superintendency has been of increasing interest in the literature (White, 2023a), with scholars noting that the lack of visibility of women in top leadership roles reinforces the perception that leadership, even in female-dominated professions, is a role more suited to men (Farmer, 2005). Women's career trajectories and aspirations are shaped by multiple factors, including societal expectations, family responsibilities, and workplace cultures, which often play a crucial role in determining whether women see the superintendency as a viable or desirable career path (Allred et al., 2017). While current research has primarily focused on barriers and opportunities for female superintendents, there is a paucity of literature that considers women’s aspirations for educational leadership, which could serve as another mechanism explaining whether women reach a superintendent position (White, 2023b).

This hermeneutic phenomenological study utilized Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (1979) to interpret the various systems that influence female educational leaders’ aspirations regarding the superintendency. In this study, seven women of color at the executive cabinet level within public school districts were interviewed regarding their perceptions of the superintendency and the reasons for their desire (or lack thereof) to attain that role. A phenomenological analysis was performed, engaging in the hermeneutic circle through rounds of coding and engagement with the participants in co-creating the interpretation of the data, as described by Ramsook (2018).

The analysis revealed that most women did not have access to female leaders in their career trajectories. Women who had not come through the teacher-to-site-leader pathway expressed an erroneous belief that classroom experience and principalship were required in order to become a superintendent, and therefore did not consider themselves to be eligible—notably, these women lacked mentors. Interestingly, many women in the study expressed high efficacy and a belief that they would make good superintendents, but either declared no interest because they saw the job as overly political, or declared interest in the role but were not pursuing it due to family commitments. Latina women in particular felt a strong commitment to family that discouraged their aspirations for the superintendency, especially with no Latina mentors or models to serve as a guide.

These findings indicate that various systems are at play in influencing women to either not consider or delay their timeline for considering a superintendent role. From the micro-level, where a lack of personal relationships with female superintendents is at play, to the macro-level, where societal expectations to raise a family pressure women to “choose” between home and career, the interplay of these systems by and large works against the formation of aspirations to attain a superintendent role. By addressing the systemic obstacles that shape aspirations, then, efforts to promote gender equality in education leadership can be more effectively targeted.

Author

• Dalia Gadalmawla, Corona-Norco Unified School District