Illuminating Widespread Bias in Education Leadership: Women Leading Ed Releases First-Ever Survey of Women Leaders from Across t
PR Newswire
WASHINGTON, March 19, 2024
WASHINGTON, March 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Women Leading Ed, the largest national nonprofit network of women in education leadership, released the results of its first-ever Insight Survey, to understand and document the views, aspirations, and experiences of women in education leadership in states and districts across the country.
The findings show that women in these positions–including top district and state jobs–nearly universally experience gender-based bias that impacts their ability to do their job, how they feel about their work, and their overall wellbeing.
Between November 2023 and January 2024, over 110 women responded to the inaugural WLE Insight Survey 2023-2024–nearly half of respondents identify as persons of color. Collectively, the respondents serve nearly 8 million students in 81 different school systems in 28 states. Those who participated serve in roles ranging from district and state superintendents to aspiring leaders in various administrative positions in bipartisan administrations. The survey report also includes the first-person accounts of these leaders, giving added texture to its quantitative data.
"The results of our first-annual survey paint a clear and at times painful picture of the reality that women face in education leadership," said Dr. Julia Rafal-Baer, CEO of Women Leading Ed. "Bias continues to hold talented and capable women back and constrain their impact. It's a reality so ingrained and accepted that it's taken on the quality of wallpaper or background noise. The survey results expose just how little has truly changed, despite women gaining some entry into top leadership. We are in the same spaces, but women are still required to play a different game."
Key findings of the first-annual WLE Insight Survey include:
The experiences illustrated by the Women Leading Ed Insight Survey 2024 demonstrate the need for systemic change to take on the gender gap in education leadership. Fortunately, there is now a playbook for just that.
In 2023, more than 100 top female leaders in K-12 education came together to call for evidence-based action at the district, state, and federal levels to take on gender bias in education leadership and ensure that female leaders have a fair shot at top jobs. The result was The Time is Now: A New Playbook for Women in Education Leadership which synthesizes years of workplace research and outlines catalytic strategies including:
More than 700 education leaders signed onto an open letter calling for the adoption of the strategies contained within The Time is Now.
Read the full survey report here.
Media Inquiries:
press@womenleadinged.com
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SOURCE Women Leading Ed