The Status of Women Leaders in Utah Education

In September of 2013, the Center for American Progress released a report titled “The State of Women in America: A 50- State Analysis of How Women Are Faring Across the Nation.” The report ranked Utah last of all 50 states in terms of women holding positions of decision making and leadership. Because the focus was solely on the percentage of women in elected office and private sector management positions, we determined that a more detailed look at the status of women and leadership in various sectors within the state would be useful. This is the third of four 2014 briefs, and it focuses on the status of women leaders in Utah education (higher and public K–12). The previous briefs highlighted data on women in Utah politics and nonprofit organizations, and the remaining one will focus on business. Each compares Utah data with national data and reviews applicable literature.

Higher Education

According to a recent report, Benchmarking Women’s Leadership in the United States, women comprise an average of 24.5% of “positional leaders” in academia across the country. The positional leaders included full professors, board trustees, presidents, and chief academic officers at doctoral granting institutions. However, there is a significant gender disparity in senior leadership between doctorate-granting institutions and community colleges. A 2009 Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) publication stated that women represent 52% of senior leaders at community colleges but only 34% in doctorate-granting institutions. Yet, a 2008 American Council of Education (ACE) report titled On the Pathway to the Presidency: Characteristics of Higher Education’s Senior Leadership stated that 45% of all senior administrators were female when all types of higher education institutions are included. There are obvious discrepancies in the data, but all of the sources consistently acknowledge that these percentages are not high enough. They also call for increased preparation and hiring of women throughout all levels of management and leadership within higher education.

Public Education (K-12)

This section compares national and Utah data on the following leadership positions and/or categories within public education: Boards of Education, State Offices of Education Leaders, District Superintendents, District Staff Directors, and Principals. The majority of the Utah data was obtained from the extensive Utah 2013–2014 Educational Directory found online. Research assistants identified gender by looking at the names of individuals within specific positions listed in this directory. If names were not gender-specific, online searches of schools or district and state offices provided additional details.

To learn more about The Status of Women Leaders in Utah Education read the entire brief.