African American women are underrepresented in the attainment of superintendent roles from a racial and gendered standpoint. African American females hold only 1% of superintendent positions in a field in which 27% of superintendents are women and 8.6% of superintendents are African American. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to…

The purpose of this qualitative multi-case study was to examine the career pathways experienced by 10 women superintendents in the state of Arizona, the barriers they encountered along the way, and the strategies they used overcome them. To learn about women superintendents' experiences from their perspective, the researcher relied on the feminist…

This article analyses the disaggregated data from the 2020 American Superintendent Decennial Study. The focus on superintendents of colour provides important insight into the ways individuals holding the highest rank in school districts govern the instructional, facilities, fiscal, personnel, and community relations matters as they comprehensively…

Though Massachusetts is viewed as a leader in K-12 education, our state grapples with significant racial and gender power gaps in education leadership. This report, developed in partnership with the Women's Power Gap Initiative of the Eos Foundation, delves into the inequities among superintendents and other leadership roles in Massachusetts…

The topic of African American superintendents has been largely neglected in society. Research studies revealed that an under-representation of African American superintendents exists. This ethnic disparity is a valid concern. This study was based on the premise that additional research studies are needed to understand the climate, culture and…

An underrepresentation of African American women in the superintendency exists in K-12 public schools. There is also a lack of research on their leadership and experiences in education. Although the number of women superintendents has increased over the years, the superintendency remains a male-dominated field and African American women remain in…

Focused on the absence of a viable population of African American women in the superintendency, this study addressed barriers described by 10 credentialed, district-level Southern women who hold advanced education degrees coupled with years of leadership experience. This phenomenological study used interview methodology to uncover the lived…

The recent resignations of three prominent black female superintendents--Arlene Ackerman of San Francisco, Barbara Byrd-Bennett of Cleveland, and Thandiwe Peebles of Minneapolis--have prompted renewed discussion of the roles race and gender play in the superintendency. Current and former such leaders said in interviews that grappling with negative…