An incisive account on the underrepresentation of women, especially women of color, in positions of leadership in K-12 schools and how to correct this bias. Educational Lead(her)ship exposes the systemic obstacles that impede the professional advancement of women in K-12 education and offers readers the tools to recognize and combat these inequities. In this rousing work, educational leadership scholars Jennie Weiner and Monica Higgins investigate patterns of gender bias in the profession, prompted by the observation that, although the great majority of classroom educators are women, disproportionately few women inhabit leadership positions such as principal, superintendent, or school administrator. Through candid interviews with more than 200 women educational leaders, Weiner and Higgins pinpoint implicit and explicit means of repression and highlight the resources that these leaders have marshaled to punch through systemic barriers. The interviewees recount the many forms of sexism and racism they have confronted in the workplace, including microaggressions, stereotypes about women's work, and the expectation of uncompensated emotional labor. Taking aim at the widespread gender and racial discrimination in school systems, Weiner and Higgins identify paths to empowerment for women in education. They advocate solidarity, collective action, and leveraging networks of allies to push for the re-engineering of our educational organizations, environments, and cultures to sow a more balanced and equitable leadership landscape.
Jennie Weiner is an associate professor of educational leadership at the University of Connecticut. Monica C. Higgins is the Kathleen McCartney Professor of Education Leadership at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
"Weiner and Higgins hit it out of the park by spotlighting a seldom recognized or acknowledged facet of education leadership: gender discrimination and gendered racism. Framing the issues with theory, real-life cases, and thought-provoking questions, this book is a practical must-read for education leaders and their board members, who will be compelled to act." -Fran Rabinowitz, executive director, Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents "Weiner and Higgins capture authentically, graphically, and transparently the myriad impediments that historically-and regrettably, continually-plague, challenge, and beset women seeking leadership roles within America's public educational systems. In their riveting case studies, the authors both chronicle these challenges and illuminate ways to rethink the 'glass cliff" debacle, refute the personal tax often demanded, and reset the narrative depicting women's leadership capabilities. This book is a must-read for current and aspiring women leaders and all system-level leaders, including school board members, superintendents, and their male counterparts at every level of the system." -Deborah Jewell-Sherman, Gregory R. Anrig Professor of Practice in Educational Leadership, Harvard Graduate School of Education "This book provides excellent insights into ways to disrupt gendered discrimination and gendered racism in educational leadership. Women leaders and women who aspire to leadership need to read it to strengthen their own agency and to learn how to be activists for gender and racial equity." -Margaret Grogan, professor emerita of educational leadership and policy, Donna Ford Attallah College of Educational Studies, Chapman University
