Making a difference: Changing the gender balance in educational leadership

Abstract

It is a well established fact that women are not represented in positions of educational leadership in proportion to their representation in the teaching profession. New Zealand is no exception; the higher up the seniority ladder the fewer the women. In recent years, despite legislation and a requirement of schools to have in place equal employment opportunities (EEO) policies and programmes the situation has changed little. Why is this so and what is being done to change the situation? In this paper I will examine some of the reasons why the present situation has occurred and why there has been so little improvement despite EEO legislation and affirmative action. In particular, I will explore the impact of the New Right education context on equity and women's leadership. This will be followed by a description of an intervention strategy that was specifically designed to change the gender balance in educational leadership in a secondary school, through a professional and personal development programme specifically designed for women-only. I will also explore how the nature of educational leadership has changed under the new educational administration reforms and will comment on how this might impact on those practising feminist educational leadership.