Lessons Learned Men still control the vast majority of key leadership positions. The state of Washington provides a model for many states where female participation in the superintendency remains at much lower levels. Obviously, men still control the vast majority of key leadership positions in the state's schools and districts. And, even in the nine states where greater proportions of women fill school superintendencies, nowhere does the proportion mirror the overall levels of female participation in the education job market. Being tenth in a snail race doesn't give you the right to boast.
Schools appear to be no more progressive than corporate America.
Women's work is still women's work. The vast majority of women working in Washington schools hold clerical, aide, or elementary teaching positions. I less desirable locations, with expanded responsibilities, with fewer support staff, and for lower pay. Ten of Washington' s smallest, most isolated districts are headed by women who work as teachers, principals, and superintendents for salaries below the state mean. We cannot allow ourselves to be lulled into thinking that we are making progress when in fact the school superintendency remains a strongly held male bastion.