Education: UNESCO Report calls for more women at the top

The report also shows how women leaders in education often have a positive impact on inclusion, addressing challenges which disproportionately affect girls, and tend to support professional development for teachers, and foster a collaborative culture.

Although most teachers are female, women face challenges to climbing the leadership ladder in education, just as they do in all professions. This must change. You cannot be what you cannot see: more women in education leadership would help stop gender stereotyping, and inspire girls to go further, creating a virtuous cycle of benefits for society at large. - Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education of UNESCO

The report, Women lead for learning, produced by UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report, offers global data showing gender disparity in education leadership. While 81% of care centre and preschool leaders were women in selected OECD countries, women made up only 16% of primary school principals in francophone Africa.

In upper-middle- and high-income countries, there is a 20-point gender gap in secondary school leadership. In higher education globally, only 30% of leaders are women. Data from sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia and from countries such as Australia, Chile, Qatar and the United States also show that women often have to prove themselves as teachers for longer than men before becoming leaders. 

The disparity is found in government as well. A new global database of education and higher education ministers shows that only 27% were women in 2010–2023, and that female ministers had longer tenures than male ministers on average by about 4 months.

In some contexts, female leadership is associated with stronger community engagement, more emphasis on inclusive policies addressing barriers for girls (such as gender-based violence and menstrual health),and promoting collaborative school cultures. Data across 44 upper-middle- and high-income countries shows that female principals dedicate more time than their male peers to the curriculum, teaching, and interactions with parent and students. 

In some cases, when women lead schools, learning outcomes also improve. Schools led by women have been found to improve learning outcomes by the equivalent of an additional year of schooling in some francophone African countries, and by up to 6 months in some South-eastern Asian countries.

A link is also noted between female political representation and increased investment in education. Across 19 high-income countries, a one-point increase in female representation in lower houses of parliament is associated with a 0.04 point increase in education expenditure as a percentage of GDP. 

Women lead for learning calls for three key interventions to close the leadership gap: 

1. Identify where the ladder is broken: Track women’s progression towards education leadership positions. Assess barriers women face and expose systemic biases hindering their ascent.
2. Fix the broken structure: Repair systemic flaws by providing training to shift mindsets and mitigate gender bias in recruitment. Promote flexible work schedules to accommodate parental responsibilities.
3. Guide women’s ascent to leadership positions through training, coaching and mentorship.

Women lead for learning.

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UNESCO’s work on gender equality and education