Confronting Gender Inequalities in Education Leadership: A Case of Zimbabwe

Abstract

The persistence of the marginalisation of women has dominated education leadership research recently. This study examined literature on women’s education leadership and management through the lens of social justice. The study used Shields’s tenets of transformative leadership to unearth and dissect issues of gender discrimination in education leadership. As a catalyst for a recent systematic review of research on Zimbabwean women’s education leadership literature, the study reviewed 22 publications used earlier in the systematic research review. The studies were identified through numerous electronic searches following carefully defined eligibility criteria. A thematic analysis was conducted through the use of mind maps to deduce common themes. The results suggested a transformation of persistent political, institutional, structural, economic, cultural and social inequalities and human rights violations to achieve social justice in education leadership. Further research should be undertaken to examine the root causes of persistent gender imbalances and the failure of gender equity.