Gender differences in participatory leadership: An examination of principals’ time spent working with others

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine whether female principals have a more participatory style compared to their male counterparts by examining principals’ daily time allocation patterns. The study analyzed data from End of Day (EOD) survey logs from principals in an urban school district. Results from hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) results showed that female principals, when compare to male principals, spent a higher proportion of their time working with others in planning/setting goals. At the same time, there were no differences in how principals allocated their time total working alone or working with others and their time distribution in other leadership domains. The findings suggest that gender differences in leadership style depend on specific activity domains and that there are significant differences in the key domain of strategic planning.