And yet, women remain disproportionately under-represented in leadership positions in schools, both here in the UK and in the international schools' sector. The Department for Education workforce census shows women 14% less likely to be promoted to senior leadership, and 20% less likely to become heads. Since gender pay gap reporting regulations were introduced in 2017, this too has become a common topic of discussion in school common rooms: women at all levels are paid less than their male counterparts.
Here at OIC Brighton, our houses are named after pioneering figures in women’s education: Sophia Jex-Blake, a 19th century campaigner for medical education for women who founded two women’s medical schools, and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, co-founder of the London School of Medicine for Women. These women paved the way for our fantastic female students to go into their chosen career paths without boundaries, but on this International Women’s Day we are only too aware that there remain unacceptable obstacles in women’s careers around the world.
These barriers to women’s advancement are complex and changing. Active discrimination has been steadily eroded by the Equal Pay Act (1970) and Equalities Act (2010), but contextual – and often invisible – factors remain influential. Women are more likely to factor in childcare to their career choices and are less likely to privilege their careers over their partner’s, which can impact mobility when considering international leadership roles.
In my own career, predominantly in the independent sector in the UK, I’ve seen the enduring impact of out-of-date thinking about women’s roles. At one school the staff dress code had only just been updated from expecting women to wear skirts and twin sets (what even is a twin set?), and the wearing of trousers could still raise an eyebrow. I have lost count of the number of times that I’ve been asked, at interview, about my childcare arrangements. The question is not the problem here – but is it being asked of the young fathers who apply? Maternity leave is fraught with challenge and has noticeable impact on career progression, with women often feeling vulnerable to losing a leadership position, and schools offering little flexibility to mothers returning to work.
I could easily have been put off becoming a Principal. I have worked with some brilliant headmasters, but they were all male and, importantly, had equally brilliant wives who seemed to play a vital role in the leadership of the school. I couldn’t imagine how you could be a head without having a wife. In several cases, the wives disclosed that they too had been interviewed as part of their husband’s appointment process. My husband has many brilliant qualities, but hosting coffee mornings and organising flower arrangements for chapel services aren’t among them – and the thought of him being interviewed alongside me is frankly disconcerting. If one’s early models of what a headteacher looks like don’t match your own attributes and experiences, this is hard to shake – and the persistent stereotype of men as leaders and women as supporters and nurturers will endure. (The word ‘master’ has been hard to shake in the independent sector, too. Whilst women have increasingly taken up these roles, they are often still burdened with this inherently masculine title. Our organisation-wide use of ‘Principal’ is refreshingly gender neutral.)
Working internationally shifted my mindset. I encountered more modern and progressive thinking and a nimbler approach to change. The community of an international school means that your family is part and parcel of who you are and what you do, as opposed to something you try to keep hidden so that you’re taken seriously at work. Our network of schools is gratifyingly free of the kind of patriarchal tradition that makes it hard for women to imagine themselves in leadership roles. I remember my first INSET at a new role overseas, when we were told that childcare would be available all day, so we could bring our children into work. It was a small gesture, but momentous in shifting my experience of being a working parent.
But we need to keep a wary eye out for inequalities. Women are more likely to work part-time due to caring responsibilities – both for young children and for ageing parents - and part-time staff are less likely to be promoted into leadership (45% less likely to be promoted to headship, according to the DfE). The National Governance Association calls for systemic change in removing the barriers for flexible working, and encouraging men and women to better share caring responsibilities, including greater promotion of paternal leave.
We need to be consciously aware of our own expectations and how these are applied differently for men and women. I have been challenged for making people feel uncomfortable when I’m authoritative; I am almost certain that in a male leader the same behaviour would be seen as decisive. I benefit, as a woman, from being able to be maternal, nurturing, sometimes tactile and this has a positive impact on those within my school community: we must ensure male leaders are given the same opportunity to form effective bonds within their professional roles. (I won’t get into dress codes here, but suffice to say I am eternally grateful that no-one expects me to wear a tie: I maintain that I am far freer to express myself through my clothing than my suit-wearing brethren.) Whilst there are models that suggest that women leaders add a new dimension to traditional models of leadership, for example through relational leadership and social justice, we should treat any binary presumptions with caution. Our multicultural setting means that cultural variation is likely to be much more pronounced than gender difference, and we have non-binary colleagues who are actively challenging traditional gender tropes.
I retain the image in my mind of my early, excellent, headmaster role models. On some early mornings, as I prepare my children’s lunch boxes, I think: I doubt they’d have been doing this before a busy day running a school. Feminists talk about the “mental load” – the invisible cognitive labour borne predominantly by women in heterosexual couples. Whilst modern couples typically share visible tasks, there is an unseen burden of planning, remembering, organising and, often, worrying, that is predominantly borne by women. It’s buying birthday presents for your daughter’s school friends, remembering to book dentists’ appointments, checking in with an unwell relative, worrying about whether your son’s had enough exercise that weekend… This emotional labour is significant, and wearying.
If we consider the “mental load” of school leadership, we need to ensure that female leaders are given the support and training needed to manage what can become increasingly complex demands on their capacity, both within and outside of their professional roles. A 2023 report published by RSA Academics, ‘The New Art of Headship’, recognises the increased emotional burden of headship – dealing with pressure, modelling reassurance and positivity to others and needing greater emotional strength and resilience. Whilst we know that female leaders can operate effectively under these demands, if they are bearing more mental load than their male counterparts, their capacity is necessarily impacted.
Change is happening, and we should be unafraid of activism within the profession: of individuals and movements which challenge norms and seek new ways of working which enable us all to be more inclusive and collaborative. The work of #WomenEd provides a supportive network of women leaders in education and challenges the status quo through shared experiences; excellent professional networks for women leaders are supportive and increase visibility for future recruitment of women leaders and the use of coaching has empowered women to balance demands on their time and capacity.
My early experiences of founding OIC Brighton were characterised by meetings with a lot of men: sitting around the table with architects, chartered surveyors, finance managers it was evident that these remained male-dominated fields. It is still common for me, as a female leader, to be the only woman in the room, particularly in those outward-facing aspects of our role as school leaders. I no longer see this as a problem, but as a positive sign of change. Our task now is to convince women throughout the profession that they too have a seat at the table, and that it’s a seat in which they can feel comfortable, and thrive.
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