Women in Leadership Positions - Must They Work Harder?

Thinking about the influx of females into superintendent positions, I examined the idea of whether women have to work harder, in other words, are the expectations higher. A more cynical question might be, is there less room for error?

In 1909, when Ella Flagg Young became the first woman superintendent of the Chicago public schools, she declared: Women are destined to rule the schools of every city (cited in Blount, 1998, p.1). By 1928, 1.6% of all superintendents in the U.S. were women (Shakeshaft, 1989). However, not much changed over the next 70 years. In 1998, 12 percent of public school superintendents in the U.S. were women (Hodgkinson & Montenegro, 1999). Generally, the superintendency is seen as a male-dominated position (Bell & Chase, 1995), which is unusual considering that 70% of all K-12 teachers are female.

In thinking about the topic of power, influence and authority, I wondered how it worked differently for female superintendents. Although they are a minority among their peers, there are new heads of school districts, both in the city where I live (Newport News) and where I work (Hampton). The question I looked to answer from my readings is, Does the emerging female superintendent look at power, influence and authority differently than a male in the same position?

One interesting position comes from a school of thought that women stalk the position of superintendent. This comes from a system of beliefs forwarded by writer Carlos Castenada (1974, 1981, 1987, etc..), who introduced a system called the seven principles of stalking. The term originally derived from the custom of training Yaqui Indian warriors. In spite of the negative connotation associated with the word stalk, Castenada insists that it should not be taken negatively. In fact, because of the barriers involved with earning the position, they have to stalk it out.

Dr. C. Cryss Brunner of the University of Wisconsin has devoted much time to studying the role of female as superintendent, and has many thoughts to share. In one study, he examines the different ways that women use the power of the superintendency to build stronger relationships and how their feminism works as an asset in the ability to perform the job. Brunner calls it an ethic of care. (Beck, 1994; Noddings, 1984). By relating the topic to Euro-American women who hold the position, Brunner (1995) notes the feminine use of power holds the promise of transformed practice for anyone, female or male, who accepts the challenge.

In another study, Brunner cites the work of Hartsock (1987), who associated gender with the concept of power. While avoiding domination, Hartock says that women adhere to a theory of power which stems from the point of

view of the subordinate. They draw on their own capacities, abilities and strengths to gain empowerment in the superintendent position.

The authors of my readings all appeared to agree on the basic idea that men and women view power, influence and authority in a different way. It is also suggested that women do show awareness of this theory in several ways. First, women interested in becoming the superintendent of a school system will seek out the position and in a sense, stalk for the job. This is not an exercise of using dominating power, but is rather borne from an awareness that the position is male-dominated and that a female will have to make an extra effort to make her interest in the position known to the local school board.

Another point of interest comes from the leadership style of the female superintendent as opposed to her male counterpart. Brunner (1995) believes it is difficult, but not impossible for superintendents to behave in an ethical caring way toward the less powerful, such as teachers and children, and believes that natural female instincts allow these leaders to practice collaboration and consensus-building which relies on positive, less hierarchical relationships between people.

In an earlier study, Brunner (1994) had hypothesized about this gender-specific type of power and found three items. First, when women operate according to the female concept of power, their chances to acquire positions of power decrease dramatically. Second, women are most likely to be empowered in those communities that have pluralistic or diffused power structures. Finally, women who attain positions of power are most successful when they adopt female approaches to power that stress collaboration, inclusion and consensus building models.

In a sense, the argument is a paradox. On the one hand, females are supposed to possess qualities which are beneficial to performing the superintendent position. Yet, the same traits are known to keep one from acquiring the job, leaving potential applicants to stalk the job and go against their normal demeanor. From this information, it would seem that performing the duties of the job is easier for a female than being selected for it.

The author has gone on to research the process by seeking the answer to the question: If women make up over 70 percent of the teacher ranks, then why are only less than ten percent in the ranks of superintendents of schools? While acknowledging that people may find gender-specific research to be offending, it can be useful and help to gain a better understanding of educational administration in the future. The information from these various studies can certainly beneficial to women who are working their way up the pipeline from teacher to principal to central office director, and hopefully on to the top position in their school district.