NAIS Research: Summary of Findings from Barriers to the Hiring of Women for the Independent School Headship

Executive Summary

Findings from the study "Barriers to the Hiring of Women for the Independent School Headship" by Kelley King, College of Education, Walden University.

Gender equality in the workforce—and particularly in senior leadership—continues to be an aspirational goal in the United States. Despite centuries of activism and decades of legislation, gender equality has not yet been achieved. Within the field of education, women make up 78% of the teaching force but only 33% of the heads of school. Although some progress has been made, results have been mixed, and there are clear signs that progress has stalled.

This dissertation by Kelley King, Ed.D. student at Walden University, explored the perceptions of six female heads of coeducational, K-12 independent day schools and six female executive search consultants to better understand the barriers that women face in being hired for an independent school headship. Twelve interviews were conducted via Zoom. Participants were invited to review the analysis of their individual interview to engage with, add to, or clarify their responses and the researcher’s interpretation of their responses.

Three barriers to the hiring of women for independent school headship were identified:

  • Societal gender bias (perceived by heads of school and search consultants)
  • Limitations women place on themselves (perceived by heads and consultants)
  • The underrepresentation of women as hiring decision-makers (perceived by consultants)

A summary of the findings as reported in the researcher’s dissertation follows. The summary was prepared by Margaret Anne Rowe, NAIS research analyst. Click here to read the entire study.

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