‘Be more like a man’: Female educators face gender barriers and discrimination in leadership race

Female educators applying for leadership roles at Australian schools are more likely to encounter personal, social and systematic obstacles than their male peers, with one woman told to be “less like a girl”.

New research has revealed the bias women encounter when applying for senior positions at schools.

A Victorian principal, who was told her leadership style needed to be “less like a girl”, has recounted the gender barriers she faced in her career progression journey, as new research reveals the bias women encounter when applying for senior positions at schools.

Women are more likely to encounter greater personal, social and systematic obstacles that prevents them from rising to senior leadership positions than their male counterparts, new research by Australian Catholic University (ACU) found.

Female educators account for 76 per cent of the Victorian government teaching workforce, but only 44 per cent of executive principals and 56 per cent of principals are women, according to Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership chief executive Dr Marcia Devlin.

Women are more likely to encounter greater personal, social and systematic obstacles than their male counterparts when applying for school leadership roles.

While there are more female than male principals in Australia, study chief investigator Associate Professor Theresa Dicke said gender bias and discrimination was contributing to a disproportionate representation of female school leaders nationally.

“We know women make up the majority of education professionals yet their ascension to educational leadership roles is disproportionately low, highlighting a significant gap in opportunity, support, and ultimately, representation,” she said.

The research, which was also conducted by ACU academics Dr Paul Kidson, Dr Rebecca Pagano and Dr Marzena Baker, found work-life balance, stereotypes and lack of support were some of the main barriers female educators faced when applying for leadership positions.

“Many women reported hostility and a lack of support from colleagues – which made them feel isolated – and that makes it even more challenging to navigate the complexities of leadership,” Associate Professor Dicke said.

“Racism is also another issue for women of colour, so these educators face a double bind of gender and racial discrimination.”

One Victorian principal, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said there were a number of instances where a man was appointed to a leadership position over herself, despite them being less qualified.

“Early in my career in leadership, I was told I needed to be tougher, to take a firmer stance,” she said.

“In one instance, I was actually told I needed to be ‘less like a girl’ in how I did leadership; the assumption being that taking an empathetic and collaborative approach to leadership was less powerful or impactful.”

More support and better access to professional development could help in equalising the senior leadership recruitment process for men and women.

The principal recalled how she was asked in an interview how she intended to balance family commitments with a demanding leadership role.

“I knew one of the male candidates for the position and he was not asked this in the interview despite him having a similar size and aged family,” she said.

“I was also challenged once by a male boss about my choice of clothing … I was dressed entirely appropriately and professionally however he wanted me to present ‘more like a man’ for an important community event.

“The entire system approach to leadership and women in the education space needs to change – we have too few people wishing to stay in the profession and then undertake the challenge of leadership.”

Associate Professor Dicke said a transparent promotion process was needed to ensure women and men applying for leadership roles were treated equally.

She also called for better access to professional development, mentorship programs and resilience training workshops to create an empowering landscape for career growth.

“We need to urgently level the playing field when it comes to opportunities for women to advance to leadership roles in schools,” she said.

A Department of Education spokeswoman said “we strongly support women taking on leadership roles in schools”.