Women’s leadership in education: A perspective from Chilean school leaders

Abstract

This paper focuses on the experiences of six Chilean female headteachers. It addresses their career progress, and the facilitators and barriers, as well as the challenges they encountered in accessing and enacting school leadership. The six participants were drawn from all three of Chile’s school types – public, semi-private and private – in what is a differentiated system. The findings demonstrate both differences and similarities in participants’ experiences, across all three school sectors. A major difference relates to the additional barriers faced by public sector school leaders, compared with participants in the private and semi-private schools.

Keywords

Chile education gender headteachers patriarchy

Introduction

Chilean school management context

In Chile, the educational system is embedded in three different types of school: public (also called ‘municipal’), semi-private (private subsidised) and private. This division within the Chilean education system was originated during Pinochet’s dictatorship in 1973, when ‘a radical programme of denationalisation, the removal of labour rights, and the expansion of private involvement in practically all social services’ (Carrasco and Gunter, 2019: 71), was introduced, an example of neoliberalism in public education. Since 1981 Private organisations ‘were allowed to set up schools in competition with ‘public’ provision by municipalities’ (Carrasco and Gunter, 2019: 72). The majority of private subsidised schools (85%) are ‘small family business and the roles of owner and headteacher overlap’ (Carrasco and Gunter, 2019: 75), while the other 15% are owned by network business, philanthropic or religious establishments (Carrasco and Gunter, 2019).

This diversity has developed great inequities and segmentation in educational provision, which depends on the students’ family socio-economical resources, generating a structural problem within Chilean education (Donoso-Diaz and Benavides-Moreno, 2018). Socio-educational segmentation caused by market dynamics and discriminatory practices in private establishments harms public education, a sector with more responsibilities and fewer resources, due to the structural inequalities between local authorities (Bellei et al., 2018). Each local authority or municipality represents a community. ‘The municipal government administers public schools through funding provided by the state based on daily attendance per pupil voucher’ (Galdames et al., 2018: 320). Due to a decline in public school enrollment over the last 35 years, public education has been in financial crisis (Galdames et al., 2018) reflecting structural inequalities in what is a highly socially segregated school system.

The headteachers’ selection process varies depending on the type of school. In the public sector, headteachers are selected through a competitive open ‘public contest’, whereas, in both semi-private and private schools, the selection is mainly through invitations from the owner of the institution (Weinstein and Muñoz, 2012). Such informality in school heads’ recruitment helps to perpetuate school segregation, as well as selecting school headteachers who may not have adequate experience or training for the post. In the public sector, the final decision about principal selection is made by the mayor of the local authority (Weinstein et al., 2012). The mayor has significant power to make decisions about education, including headteacher selection (Weinstein et al., 2012). Although, the Law of Quality and Equity in Education in 2011 and the Law of New Public Education in 2017, contribute to a more objective and rigorous selection process, the mayor continues to have the final decision on headteacher appointments in the public sector. This has implications for women applicants, as it is seen as highly political and authoritarian, as the authors’ data indicate (see below).

While, the overall national statistics show that, women are well represented in school management, comprising 63% of all headships (MINEDUC, 2019) the statistical data do not show differences in women’s representation across pre-school, primary and secondary schools. The dominance of women in pre-school settings distorts these figures. Neighbouring countries, such as Perú and Argentina, only show broad numbers in their statistics, without detailing either school level or gender in their figures. This lack of detailed statistics has been a common feature among Latin American and Caribbean countries and, ‘when there is some information, it is inaccurate, unreliable, outdated or only at one school level’ (Weinstein et al., 2014: 14). Chile’s statistics are the exception, as the data are reliable, differentiated by gender, and updated every year by the Ministry of Education (Weinstein et al., 2014). Although Chile’s education statistics are detailed, compared with other countries in the region, they still do not differentiate across school sectors.

Furthermore, in public schools, there are more male headteachers than females, while in the semi-private and private sectors women’s representation is higher. (MINEDUC, 2019). This leads to the possibility that the mayor’s significant role in the public sector leads to male dominance among headship positions.

The Chilean Ministry of Education’s growing interest in training programmes for school leaders is evidence of a focus on school managers and their professional development, acknowledging the crucial role headteachers have in the improvement of learners’ education. Yet, these training programmes do not address gender equity at a managerial level.

Gender equity within schools is one of the current priorities for the Chilean education system. It mainly focuses on student learning and gender gaps between girls and boys, where girls performed better in language tests rather than in maths or science, where teachers have higher expectations of boys than of girls (Mizala et al., 2015). This shows that the educational reforms acknowledge gender inequity within the Chilean educational context (MINEDUC, 2015) but the reforms only address gender inequity in the classroom, while overlooking other levels of education, including school leadership.

Literature review

Women in educational leadership and management

Women leaders in education have been discussed in the global literature, particularly in the UK, US and Australia for many decades (Blackmore, 1989a, 1999, 2013; Coleman, 1994, 2002, 2010; Fuller, 2013, 2014, 2017; Shakeshaft, 1987,1993). However, women’s under-representation in school management in many countries continues to be a critical issue, in order to achieve gender balance in educational management.

The widely discussed disparity that women constitute the majority of teachers globally, but not of principals, shows the profound influence of socially constructed gender roles. Blackmore (1989b), points out that leadership is linked to schools in a hierarchical way, where also characteristics of power and authority are socially male features, whereas women’s features are culturally related to supporting, caring and nurturing. Therefore, those women that have achieved headship positions in secondary schools, have had to overcome overt and covert barriers (Coleman, 2002), where also, once in post, they must ‘prove their worth as a manager’ (Coleman, 2002: 82), which indicates that gender roles stereotypes are a barrier for women even when they become leaders.

Gender role reproduction affects all levels within educational institutions. However, leadership roles are linked to gender stereotypes, where primary school management positions are highly feminised (Bush, 2017), whereas headships at high school level are more commonly held by men. Such gender stereotypes help to maintain a gap in women’s career progress (Coleman, 2002). This raises the question about the influence of gender stereotypes on the experiences of women principals in Chile.

Issues around gender stereotypes in educational leadership have been researched in order to comprehend the reasons for the barriers that female teachers face to achieve headship positions, which distinguish them from their male peers. The lack of acknowledgement of women as leaders and managers in education has led to critiques of such assumptions, challenging the notion that male leadership is superior and female values are inferior (Blackmore 1989a; Shakeshaft,1987).

Gender theories

The focus on gender issues in educational leadership and management originated mainly due to the wish to comprehend the reasons for the barriers experienced by female teachers in seeking headship positions, in contrast to their male peers (Fuller, 2013). The ‘feminist impulse often emerged in the recognition that my pain, or my silence or my anger or my perception is finally not mine alone and that delimits me in a shared cultural situation’ (Butler, 1988: 522). This view helps to express the reason behind feminist theories and how the experience of one woman reproduces the situation of gender as a collective (Butler, 1988: 522).

There are various feminist theories relating to women and leadership (Fuller, 2013). The feminist theory of equality defends women’s place in educational leadership, arguing that sex exclusion should not occur and so, ‘women are equally capable as men’ (Fuller, 2013: 3). The under-representation of women in management positions also relates to equity issues, where liberal feminist theories focus on equality policies to ensure the same opportunities and access (Coleman, 2002).

In contrast, the feminist theory of difference argues that socio-cultural roles of women differ from men’s, relating their responsibilities mainly to the domestic role (Fuller, 2013). It is also argued that feminist understandings offer alternatives views on how leadership is practiced and theorised (Blackmore, 2013) not only for female leaders, but also for those men who are adopting feminist styles when enacting leadership.

Moreover, feminist theories understand gender as a concept that is socially constructed, differentiating between sex and gender, where the first one ‘refers to one’s biology, and the second one refers to the social meaning given to one’s sex’ (Schmuck, 1996: 345), subject to change within particular cultures and over time. This links to post-structural gender theories, allowing us to understand a need for a reconstruction of educational leadership. The feminist reconstruction of leadership comprehend that women’s lack of representation as leaders in education is beyond numbers (Blackmore, 1989b). Thus, the focus is to reconstruct the male educational leadership model, reformulating its ways into a democratic form of leadership compatible with education, therefore contributing to it.

Gender performance theory discusses gender and daily practices learned and performed, based on cultural and societal norms of femininity and masculinity. According to Butler (1988: 519), gender is established through our bodies, where ‘bodily gestures, movements and enactments of various kinds constitute the illusion of an abiding gendered self’. Different types of acts or enactments are interpreted by the society as part of a gender expression, and that ‘these acts conform to an expected gender identity’ (Butler, 1988: 528).

When enacting their leadership, society expects certain bodily gestures, and strong voices, from the expected leader figure. Such expectations have constituted a challenge for female leaders in education, where they must uphold their own leadership styles and meet, in many cases, others’ expectations on how a leader should act and behave in their posts.

While there is a continuing notion about female and male ways of leadership, that has defined leadership styles historically, it is also pivotal for gender role transformation, to eliminate stereotypical characteristics, and move towards a view of educational leadership where features such as democratic, consultative, open or determined, visionary and strategic, are no longer related to one specific gender, but are recognised as human behaviour.

Most gendered educational leadership literature emanates from the US, UK or Australia, and do not adequately reflect gendered leadership in the Chilean education context. This provides the warrant for the research reported in this paper.

Methodology

A qualitative approach was used by the author, to provide in-depth data about women headteachers in Santiago, the capital of Chile. The career progression of women school leaders in Chile, and their barriers and facilitators, has rarely been studied and the qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews, allowed the researcher to employ an open interview guide, with follow up questions tailored to participants’ responses, allowing them to create knowledge, through an ‘interaction between the interviewer and the interviewee’ (Kvale and Brinkmann, 2009: 2). During these inter-views knowledge was constructed while the conversation developed between both actors. Semi-structured interviews allow gathering descriptions of the interviewee’s world, for later interpretation by the researcher of the ‘meaning of the described phenomena’ (Kvale and Brinkmann, 2009: 3).

A qualitative approach enables the researcher to understand the phenomena explained by focusing on the cultural and personal aspect of each participant, comprehending (through their interaction) the nature of their experiences. Morrison (2012: 15) notes that the choice of methodology and research methods should be based upon the nature of the study, linked to how each researcher ‘gain[s] knowledge in research contexts and why’. Thus, as Kvale and Brinkmann (2009: 18) argue, ‘the process of knowing through conversations is intersubjective and social’, where the two (interviewer and interviewee) act as co-constructors of knowledge.

Researchers’ positionality

Positionality is the ability of the researcher to reflect on one’s position in relation to the phenomena being studied, the participants and its context, and how it impacts on the study itself (Berger, 2013).

As a Chilean woman, the researcher could easily comprehend the stratified school context the six participants narrated during the interviews, as well as their experiences and views. While the researcher’s rationale links to the interpretivist paradigm, aimed at understanding participants’ phenomena, there was no intention to generalise and each story contributes to the aims of the study. Although the researcher is a Chilean woman, it is important to state that ‘while, researcher familiar terrain wherein racial and/or gender congruity exist can aid the collaboration, congruity will not necessarily legitimize the illegitimacy of the researcher’s status’ (Moorosi et al., 2018: 154).

Further, the researcher’ own views and thinking about the phenomena were neither shared, nor claimed congruity to the participants, maintaining a listening position focused to ‘give voice’ to those that have not had the opportunity to narrate their stories, and that have been rarely studied (Moorosi et al., 2018). A trusting relationship was developed during the interviews, as well as mutual respect. Such characteristics permitted the researcher to reflect about her own positionality and the impact the research process may have, thus the researcher’ positionality as a Chilean woman did not affect data collection and analysis.

Sampling

The participants were identified and recruited through a combination of convenience and snowball sampling. In convenience sampling, researchers choose particular individuals to whom they have easy access (Cohen et al., 2018). Snowball sampling allows researchers to identify a small group of people who might put them in contact with possible participants, relying on friends, acquaintances, or contacts (Cohen et al., 2018). This mixture of sampling was appropriate in this study because it allowed the researcher to contact six women headteachers from three different types of schools (public, semi-private and private) and to obtain a differential sample. This helped the researcher to establish school-type variables in participants’ experiences.

Participants

The participants were six women headteachers from the three different types of school in Chile. The sample comprises two headteachers from semi-private schools, one from a private school and three from public schools. Three participants from public, semi-private and private school, work in a K-12 school, whereas the other half work in primary schools; two from the public sector and one from a private-subsidised school. Table 1 shows the osiblenal background of the participants, by school type.

Table 1.

Professional background of participants.

Participants	School type according to dependency	School Type
Headteacher nº1	Public (municipal)	K-12 school
Headteacher nº2	Semi-private (private-subsidised)	K-12 school
Headteacher nº3	Public (municipal)	Primary school
Headteacher nº4	Semi-private (private-subsidised)	Primary school
Headteacher nº5	Private	K-12 school
Headteacher nº6	Public (municipal)	Primary school

It was not possible to achieve a matched sample of two participants from each school type. All the participants have children and their average age is 46. Five of them are married while one is divorced. Half of them are in their first headship, while the other half are in their second headship, and only one of the six headteachers has been in post for more than a decade, in two different schools. The participants have been given pseudonyms to maintain anonymity and confidentiality.

Research instruments

The development of the interview questions was based on the literature (Coleman, 2002) and the research questions. The questions were designed to explore participants’ journeys to headship, along with their views on how gender affects career progression. The research questions addressed the following aspects:

– Opportunities for women to achieve a headship position in the Chilean school context.

– Facilitators and barriers for women aspiring headship in Chile.

– Challenges for women when enacting headship in Chile.

Data analysis

The analysis was carried out thematically, using themes identified partly from the research questions and partly from the literature. In that sense, the researcher linked the themes with literature allowing her to analysed and discussed differences and similarities from the results of her study with previous international studies (Blackmore, 1999; Coleman, 2001, 2002, 2012; Fuller, 2013, 2017; Hall, 1996; Kaparou and Bush, 2007; Shakeshaft, 1987, 1993). Similarly, the author examined the data obtained from the interview transcripts with the literature allowing the researcher to interact with the data, going back and forth, in order to reformulate the information gathered.

Findings

The findings are presented thematically.

Female headship opportunities

The interview data showed different perceptions of headship opportunities for female school leaders, according to the school sector they represent, although the views of headteachers from the semi-private and private sectors were quite similar. They acknowledged that there are now more women heads than men in these school sectors. However, they also claim that there is a pay gap between men and women, where women earn less money than men in the same managerial position.

I believe that today women have won a space in educational leadership, there are more women teachers than men, so it’s natural that women hold managerial and leadership position. (Headteacher nº2, semi-private sector)

[…] I would say that there is equity of gender in terms of representation. [However], they offer less money to women. We are in a lower pay grade than men. (Headteacher nº5, private sector)

This positive experience is linked to the selection processes for headteachers in both private and private subsidised schools, which is mainly by invitation (Weinstein et al., 2012).

The public school participants, however, comment that women are still under-represented in senior management positions and that men still dominate headship positions in that sector.

The public contest for school headteachers has enhanced women into school leadership, I believe that there is a bit more equality…although there are more men as heads. (Headteacher nº6, public sector)

In every headteachers’ training programme or seminar I can easily notice that there are so many men but few women. (Headteacher nº1, public sector)

The differences across the three Chilean school sectors are mainly due to the selection processes. The public school participants argued that the system is founded on political power and authority, which works as a barrier for headship positions. Although the participants commented on the improved selection processes, they also acknowledge that a balance is yet to be achieved and that political views and social connections still influence that final decision.

Women’s lack of empowerment

Participants argued that there is a need to empower women, which is linked to their perceived lack of role models for women leaders in education:

Hearing so many stories from male teachers, that speak from their own stories, their male conditions, are much too different from a woman’s perspective. We need to hear also from women, their successful stories, it is much easy to relate to, we go through similar things and challenges…The model to follow was male teachers, not female teachers…So, that also tells us something, what is the model to follow? Who is the reference to follow? (Headteacher nº4, semi-private sector)

They also suggest that a social and cultural aspect is embedded in the idea of leadership models:

I think there is a cultural and social thing that notice men with more skills and capabilities than women. I think that society still looks at women as weak. (Headteacher nº3, public sector)

Women leaders in education have not been visualised. So, it’s great that women start to empower ourselves, so we can see ourselves. (Headteacher nº6, public sector)

The Chilean findings showed that participants’ experience aligns with previous studies about women’s views about role models in leadership positions, where they recognised a need to tell women leaders’ stories, arguing that it can help to empower them as leaders and may also motivate potential future female leaders. Similarly, they argued that hearing successful stories from women’s perspective is more relatable to their own experience and can provide a model to follow.

Barriers to headship achievement

The data from the interviews show three barriers perceived by Chilean women heads; personal, political and socio-cultural. Family responsibilities, particularly motherhood, were identified by five of the six heads as a major barrier for women’s career progress. The participants also stress the impact of domestic roles, which they refer to as ‘social pressure’, inherent in Chilean society. These stereotypical roles lead to career progression being postponed and, consequently to women not planning their careers. Significantly, all six participants achieved their headship posts when their children were grown up, and most of them argue that they could not have achieved such a position at an earlier stage.

Family responsibilities and motherhood

“We had to be married and have kids before thirty” “I decided to work in a managerial position like such, when my daughters were old enough.” (Headteacher nº1, public sector)

I think that women haven’t been considered in terms of equity, because women also have to work in their houses. (Headteacher nº2, semi-private sector)

Motherhood does have an impact on your work life decisions, so for me, it was decisive being able to have another child, because there is a pressure for professional training to be accessible for the job. (Headteacher nº6, public sector)

Women are always being postponed, so from the moment that one has that decision power to choose what to do with their own life, equity has been earned. (Headteacher nº4 semi-private sector)

I wouldn’t know how to do it with a baby…I don’t know how people do it with a baby. I think this is incompatible, this job, with a baby. (Headteacher nº5, private sector)

The system as a barrier

All three female heads from the public sector regard the selection system as a barrier. They acknowledge that the selection processes has improved, but they also argue that it was a barrier when they were seeking to achieve headship positions. All three public sector participants commented on the powerful role of the mayor in headship selection.

I did not think that I was going to win the position, because of the prejudice of the politics involved inside the decision, as the mayor has the final decision. (Headteacher nº3, public sector)

Political alliances – the selection process is made by the mayor of the council and the education director, there are too many political views and sides that influence their decision. Nowadays there are fewer but, there are still lots of social connections to get the position. (Headteacher nº6, public sector)

Chilean public education is municipalised, which depends on the local authority; and there is a political power and authority, who is the mayor, so in order to look for school management the ‘old’ ways were under political favour. So, the old system of management achievement was a big barrier. (Headteacher nº1, public sector)

These extracts clearly identify the political aspects of the system, as a major barrier for prospective women heads in the public sector.

In contrast, the selection processes for the semi-private and private schools was seen as more positive, with all three participants from these sectors stating that the school’s owner had invited them to become heads.

I think that the confidence the owners of the school had in me was very important. The clarity that they wanted someone like me as a headteacher. (Headteacher nº5, private school)

I received an invitation due to destiny and then, they (owners) proposed for the post. (Headteacher nº4, semi-private sector)

Insecurity and lack of support

Participants reported that they felt insecure when applying for headships or after accepting the position:

(…) When I knew I won the contest I was very scared; ‘what do I do, do I take it?’. (Headteacher nº3, public sector)

When I got the job, I didn’t know what to do, I was scared; ‘what did I get into…?’. (Headteacher nº6, public sector)

I thought that I didn’t have the tools, skills to do it, I did not know how to do it. (Headteacher nº4, semi-private sector)

Lack of support was another important fact that participants commented on:

Men of my age are not willing to change their roles (…). I wonder if my husband would have sacrificed a couple of years and stayed at home with the young children while I was working. (Headteacher nº1, public sector)

The family waits for the man’s career, they put everything on hold, but when it comes to a women’s career it is not the same case. (Headteacher nº4, semi-private sector)

If the supports does not exist, it is very unlikely that women have access to this kind of positions, because at the end of the day for us always the most important thing is going to be our families. (Headteacher nª5, private sector)

Although insecurity and lack of support are major factors in women’s decisions to move into a leadership position, demonstrating that a women’s career is often postponed, they all acknowledge that, with their support of their families they were able to thrive and overcome their fears and self-doubt.

Facilitators for headship achievement

The findings show two types of facilitators perceived by the Chilean women heads; internal and external. The first one relates to their own personal feature along with their family support. The second one is linked to their professional career; their experience and capabilities as well as the support from either mentors or from school owners.

Personal characteristics and passion for education

Most participants explained that, their own conviction was often crucial to make the final decision, which was very much linked to their commitment and passion for education:

Having the capacity to say to myself; ‘let’s do it!’. Believing in myself. I love my profession. So, I always want to contribute to it and generate change. I believe in public education. (Headteacher nº3, public sector)

I’m very committed about my job, and passionate about education. (Headteacher nº1, public sector)

I dared to apply for a public headship contest. (Headteacher nº6, public sector)

I think it was a personal conviction, knowing that I had the same opportunities as others. (Headteacher nº4, semi-private sector)

I think that to dare to do it. Plus that I really love education and it is what I am passionate about. (Headteacher nº5, private sector)

Family support

There are moments that emotionally you feel down, that’s why in those moments the family support is vital to overcome those feelings. (Headteacher nº1, public sector)

My husband is key in my life as well; he has always supported me, he took part of the house responsibilities. (Headteacher nº4, semi-private sector)

I’m lucky that with my husband the roles are shared, and I feel very lucky to have that. (Headteacher nº6, public sector).

Professional experience and capabilities

All participants recognised as a core facilitator their previous school leadership role, as well as training courses and the importance of gaining previous experience that prepared them for this role.

As a UTP (technical and pedagogical role) you also start to know the managerial work from the inside and you get the experience in that area, so afterwards in headship is not that hard and unknown. (Headteacher nº3, public sector)

I think that in order to get a headship position you have to get professional training, studies and experience in different other management positions. (Headteacher nº1, public sector)

As a teacher for so long and as a UTP helps you to know the system. I also did a master’s in educational leadership and management. (Headteacher nº4, semi-private)

Mentors and school owners

I always respected my previous headteachers, who I learned from. (Headteacher nº1, public sector)

I got into headship also due to others that believed in me. I met people through the journey that guided me and helped me. (Headteacher nº3, public sector)

They (owners) supported me and believed in me. (Headteacher nº2, semi-private sector)

I think that the confidence the owner of the school had in me was very important. (Headteacher nº5, private sector)

Leadership enactment challenges

Participants offer similar perceptions about the challenges of enacting leadership, regardless of their school sector. Despite their diverse contexts, there is little difference when it comes to challenges for women leaders in education. They claim that their challenges are mostly based on two notions of leadership; who is the leader and how they should lead, linked to gender.

Resistance towards female leadership

The six women heads report resentment towards their leadership, from teachers and other colleagues:

They (men) dismiss their managements just because they are women, and even comment; ‘well you know what she is like, she is a woman’. (Headteacher nª1, public sector)

It’s hard for him to recognise women in leadership positions. He avoids asking me certain things, so he asked them through the general inspector, who is a man. (Headteacher nº3, public sector)

If it were a man firing him, he would not have stood up the way he did it with me, he wouldn’t raise his voice. (Headteacher nº2, semi-private sector)

The participants report that such resistance comes only from male colleagues, while relationships with female colleagues were mostly characterised by trust and closeness:

In respect of women, it’s much more equal, I feel that they trust me, in a way, there is less hierarchy with them. (Headteacher nº5, private sector)

Women respond differently, they feel more relatable to one, like an equal, so they are comfortable knowing that I will understand them when they have issues at home, for example. (Headteacher nº1, public sector)

These insights reveal differences between male and female reactions towards women’s leadership, which can also be linked to what is familiar, comfortable and known, particularly for female colleagues. This also relates to a different type of leadership, which is less hierarchical and authoritarian.

The reasoning behind such resentment from men can be grounded in the idea that leaders are stereotypically male. While none of the six participants referred to being isolated, some did experience mockery and difficulties for their ‘different’ ways of leadership, which may lead to a sense of isolation.

Leading ‘differently’ from men

All six participants claimed to lead in a more democratic way, stating that leadership based on power and authority was not their way.

I’m too calm, I don’t shout, I like to install balance inside the workplace. I remember that some people told me that I wouldn’t do a good job for a character thing. (Headteacher nº3, public sector)

I really like to play and run around the school, one day the school board told me: ‘headteachers do not run’. (Headteacher nº5, private sector)

It is not easy to let them know one’s convictions so others do what you are asking. I haven’t exercised an imposing leadership but quite democratic. (Headteacher nº2, semi-private sector)

I don’t lead from power or authority, but as being a human, believing in change and in the public education. (Headteacher nº6, public sector)

However, they noticed that leading ‘firmly’ is still a common perception and what is expected from them:

Because in order to be a leader, you have to have a strong character, which I learned from my male colleagues. (Headteacher nº3, public sector)

At least this community demands you to, they say: ‘well but somebody has to do the dirty work, someone has to put their firm hand’. (Headteacher nº5, private sector)

Gendered stereotypes of leadership are quite embedded in how leaders should act as firm and authoritarian, however, the participants claimed that there is no single way of leading and that their approach can also be successful.

Being expected to lead like male heads

Some of the participants admitted adopting some ‘male’ characteristics, to be considered and acknowledged as a manager, and to be regarded as well as their male peers:

I felt the need to lead like a man, but not to be accepted but because I had the impression that my way was being misread, they were used to the other way: more hierarchical. (Headteacher nº4, semi-private sector)

I noticed how they (male heads) talked to the administrator and I saw the difference, so I said to myself; ‘ok, for them it works that way, so I have to do it like that’, because clearly it wasn’t working with my way, and their way did! And said: ‘I have to change my way’. (Headteacher nº3, public sector)

They gave me nicknames because I was a woman…It was very hard, I had to develop a thicker skin. (Headteacher nº6, public sector)

Chilean society

All the participants argue that there is a link between gender role stereotypes, that are immersed in the Chilean culture, and the challenges to their career:

Chile is a very prejudiced country and I feel that for us (women headteachers) they make it trickier and more difficult. And that’s because we have a very sexist culture. (Headteacher nª3, public sector)

There is also a social pressure when they ask you: ‘when are you going to have a second child, how are you going to study again?’. For women, this is always an issue, not so for men. (Headteacher nº6, public sector)

Women have always had to assume responsibilities in both her house and her job, not so in the case of men, so that role is not associated yet in men. (Headteacher nº4, semi-private sector)

The six participants claim that Chilean society is still embedded in patriarchal ways, where domestic responsibilities are only women’s roles. This led to them feeling the pressure of balancing family and work, but this is not the case for men. Regardless of their different school sectors, all participants had similar experiences and views, particularly about stereotypical roles in the Chilean society.

Such strong notions towards what is culturally and socially correct were ongoing challenges in their careers, defying the ‘normal’ ways of motherhood, and domestic roles, in order to progress in their careers as women leaders. Furthermore, these experiences reflect that, in Chilean society, there is still a belief that women’s character is not suitable for leadership. The participants acknowledge a certain requirement to ‘fit in’, in order to be regarded equally with their male peers.

Discussion and conclusion

This research focused on the experiences of six women heads in Chile, and, particularly, in understanding the main barriers, facilitators and challenges they experienced. The findings from the six participants showed many common features but also certain differences, linked to the type of school. The principals from semi-private and private schools showed similar experiences when it comes to accessing promotion, arguing that the position of women in headship has improved and that they are well represented. In contrast, the principals from the public schools claimed that there were significant difficulties in achieving their positions and that men still dominate senior leadership posts. The similarities across the six female heads relate to family responsibility as a common barrier. They all commented that, when enacting Leadership, they faced gender-based attitudes, arising from gendered role stereotypes are still present in Chilean society, regardless of the type of school.

It is clear that female leadership opportunities’ in Education are also affected by a socially segregated school system in Chile, where it reflects that gender inequality is not only and issue of scarce opportunities but mainly a social matter that conflicts with social class, gender, age, race, ethnicity and other identities that constructs this phenomena.

Also, such a segregated system hampers the headteachers’ selection process, where there is no parity in the process, where each school has their different modes of recruitment. Thus, there is a need to reform these in order to provide a consistent approach to across the different types of schools. Similarly, there is a need to develop training programmes for headteachers, where gender issues in educational leadership and management are discussed, and therefore gender parity, barriers and challenges for leadership enactment can be addressed and researched.

While this study provides valuable insights, the sample is small and it needs to be extended to a larger population of headteachers, both female and male, in order to have a broader view of the experiences and views of Chilean school managers about gender and educational management.

This final section links the main findings to insights from the literature.

Opportunities for women to achieve a headship position in the Chilean school context

The findings show a close relationship between women’s career progress and the type of school. Each school type (public, semi-public, private) has different selection processes, so women’s representation in headships varies. Women leaders are well represented in both private and semi-private sectors in Chile but, in the public schools, the managerial positions are dominated by men. Furthermore, most public school participants argued that the system is founded on political power and authority, which works as a barrier for headship achievement. Fuller (2017: 55) refers to the barriers to women achieving headship as a ‘complex range of interacting factors’ which in the case of these women heads, the organisational, i.e. meso level, works as a pivotal factor when achieving their posts. Even though participants claimed improvements in the selection process, they also acknowledge that a balance is yet to be achieved and that both political views and social connections still influence appointment decisions.

The under-representation of female leaders in secondary school management positions is an established feature in international research and literature in the UK (Coleman, 1994, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2010; Fuller, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2017), in the US (Shakeshaft, 1987), and Australia (Blackmore, 1989a, 1999, 2013). The Chilean experience is interesting because, although the national education statistics show women well represented in management posts, they do not differentiate between pre-school, primary and secondary schools, and the overall figures mask female dominance in pre-school settings and their under-representation in secondary schools (MINEDUC, 2019).

Facilitators and barriers for women aspiring to headship in Chile

Mentors and school owners acted as participants’ facilitators when making a decision to apply for headship. For public school participants, it was people within education who acted as facilitators, particularly other headteachers. The heads from the private and semi-private sectors were supported by the school owners, who acted as facilitators. Similarly, most of these women heads, across all three school sectors, claimed that they had a male role model at some point in their careers.

The findings also show that all six women heads stressed the importance of female role models and the impact they can have on future female school leaders. Similarly, both Coleman (2012) and Hall (1996) discuss the importance of female role models for the future development of women leaders in education, arguing that the lack of role models for girls, affects their aspirations and contributes to women’s unbalanced representation in management posts. Furthermore, Robinson et al. (2017: 8), argue that the lack of mentors acts as an additional challenge in the US for women aspiring to the superintendency and while they achieve the position, continuing that the reason why few women have achieved such posts is due to ‘the lack of support and mentorship for women aspiring the position’.

From the Chilean data, there is clearly a need to narrate women leaders’ success stories, to inspire future female leaders in education, and to act as mentors, particularly in secondary schools. Although the lack of mentorship was not given as a reason for women under-representation, particularly in public schools, the literature indicates that it can impact on women’s aspirations towards educational leadership.

Gender role stereotypes, such as domestic roles and motherhood, were a common barrier for most participants, preventing them from planning their career, as also found in international research (Coleman, 2002; Hall, 1996; Shakeshaft, 1987). However, the nature and extent of barriers in the Chilean study varied across the different types of schools. Motherhood still affects women’s professional careers in many countries, and Chilean experiences are no exception. Similarly, the women professionals have delayed motherhood to establish themselves in their work (Coleman, 2002). Robinson et al. (2017) also found that both white and black women superintendents ‘are nearly three to four times more likely to be childless’ compared with their male peers. Moreover, all six Chilean participants acknowledge that they achieved their headship when their children were old enough not to need full-time care. Similarly, they commented that the new generation is delaying motherhood, focusing first in their professional careers, arguing that professionally when women start a family is usually detrimental for women’s career progression and also employment, but not men’s.

The findings also showed internal barriers, where all six participants acknowledged experiencing insecurity, either when applying for the post, or after accepting the position, due to doubts about their skills and capabilities to perform the job, which is a common barrier for women (Coleman, 2002). Women may not progress towards leadership, perhaps due to ‘their own choice’. However, such internal barriers commonly indicate a lack of confidence, while Shakeshaft (1987: 84) points out that those barriers are ‘merely camouflage for deeper, societal roadblocks to women’s advancement’. Moreover, many participants (from all three types of school) commented that, due to being first time headteachers, they preferred to apply to small schools, where they were more confident about doing a good job. Such a statement clearly indicates the insecurity of women, that may hold them back when planning their careers, in comparison with their male peers (Coleman, 2001).

Internal barriers such as insecurity and lack of confidence ‘can be overcome by individual change’, while external factors ‘require social and institutional change’ (Shakeshaft, 1987: 82). She argues that women’s internal barriers have their origins in a male dominance culture, functioning as camouflage for women’s career progression.

Women have grown up experiencing gender-stereotypical roles, where culturally and socially, women’s role is deemed to be private and domestic, rather than being focused on leadership. Such role stereotypes are being questioned and transformed, feminist theories understand gender as a concept that can be transformed and socially constructed, and where post-structural gender theories have paved the way towards change and reform in the nature of leadership. However, these women heads’ barriers are largely the result of a society constructed in patriarchal ways that need deep structural change to transform such stereotypical roles.

Finally, gender role stereotypes were experienced as a barrier by the six participants, fuelled by a sexist and patriarchal society that continues to define the work-life of women heads. Thus, gender role stereotypes are the main constraint for women’s under-representation in management posts in education, which, as Blackmore (2013: 139) states, goes beyond their numerical representation, and relates to ‘the social relations of gender and power locally, nationally and internationally’, that can be transformed by re-thinking their practices into a more socially just education system.

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was funded by the Advanced Human Capital Program of the Chilean National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICYT), through its program “Magister en el extranjero Becas Chile/ 2018”. Grant number 73190149.

ORCID iD

Dalku Arroyo

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