Principalship disparities

During Women's History Month, University of Delaware Associate Professor Lauren P. Bailes is taking a closer look at why males continue to outnumber females in school leadership roles, despite equivalent years of experience.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study that examines assistant principals' applications when they are still part of the pool, before the hiring process has taken place," said Bailes, who studies educational leadership in UD's College of Education and Human Development (CEHD).

In a new study published in Educational Researcher, Bailes and her co-authors Sarah Guthery and Elc Estrera examine whether female and non-white assistant principals (APs) apply for the principalship at the same points in their careers as their male and white counterparts. After analyzing administrative data from a southeastern U.S. urban school district across eight years (2014-2022), they found significant gender and race disparities in principal applications.

Bailes and her team found that women tend to have more instructional and leadership experience than their male counterparts before they apply to the principalship. Female APs have an average of 13.2 years of teaching experience, while men have an average of 10.6 years.

Despite this difference in experience, men also started applying for the principalship sooner, some with only five years of experience. By contrast, women started to apply with six years of experience, but tended to wait much longer before submitting their first application. In fact, the women in this study continued to apply for a decade longer than their male peers.

"Women in this pool have more instructional and leadership experience than men, so we were shocked to learn that, among educators who are eligible for principalships, only about a third ever submit an application for a principalship," Bailes said.

The differences were even more striking for female APs of color. While the first white male AP applied after five years of experience with the district, the first female of color AP did not apply until she had 10 years of experience.

APs of color, in fact, are less likely than their white peers to ever apply for a principalship. While the overall pool is small - less than 37% of all APs submit an application - only 24% of APs of color apply. This means that APs of color, regardless of gender, are 66% less likely than white APs to apply to a principalship, even with equivalent experience and credentials.

Given the findings of the study, Bailes offers recommendations for applicants.

"We know from our prior research that women often wait to be 'tapped' for leadership, but that tap may never come," Bailes said. "The organization you work for may never explicitly communicate to you, as an educator qualified for a principalship, that you're ready-that you should apply. So, in terms of a practical implication: women and people of color should apply before waiting for an organization's invitation and, candidly, if you're getting the sense that men with less experience are moving faster than you, you're probably right and you should apply in other contexts."

Bailes's colleagues in CEHD's School Success Center have similarly recognized that women face significant barriers to educational leadership roles and are actively working to support their success. Over the last 10 years, nearly 80% of the 145 graduates of the SSC's Principal Preparation Program were women and more than 30 were people of color.

The program, recognized this month by the Delaware Chamber of Commerce as a 2026 Superstar in Education and Training, prepares participants for assistant principal and principal certification. About two-thirds of the program graduates are currently in leadership roles across Delaware, with others engaged in the application and interview process.

In addition to supporting school leaders through its programs, the SSC hosts an annual Women Leading Delaware Education Conference each March, bringing together educators, school leaders and policymakers from across the state. This year's theme, "EdPowering: Elevating Voices for Collective Belonging," celebrates the power of women leading in education and the stories, relationships and communities they create.

"This event represents an opportunity for all educators - including assistant principals, principals and superintendents - to come together around opportunities and barriers for women in pre-K-12 and higher education leadership," said Alison Travers, assistant director of the SSC's Delaware Academy for School Leadership. "Participation has grown to well over 350 educators each year, who celebrate the inspiration and network-building aspects of the day in addition to opportunities for collective learning."

To learn more about CEHD support for school leadership, visit the SSC's website or CEHD's Ed.D. in Organizational Improvement for Educational Leaders program page. The Ed.D. program, a supportive doctoral program designed for practicing pre-K-16 educators, helps students synthesize research, data and innovation in order to diagnose and address emerging or ongoing organizational challenges.