Much research has been conducted to determine the status of women in top education leadership positions and to help women obtain these posts. Over the years ACSA has been well-served by women’s caucuses and various networks for female administrators. In the late 1970s, ACSA established the ACSA Women’s Caucus to communicate with women leaders and to provide information about the status of females in educational administration.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s the Women’s Caucus produced and distributed newsletters for female leaders and hosted receptions and breakfasts at ACSA and CSBA statewide conferences. In 1982 the California Network for Women in Education formed as a statewide organization to help local networks and to support and prepare women for advancement in educational leadership.

Also in 1982 ACSA celebrated the appointment of Emma Hulett as president-elect of ACSA, the first female to hold this position. Hulett became the first female to serve as ACSA president in 1983-84.

During the 1990s, ACSA’s female presidents and former presidents continued to host a Women’s Breakfast at ACSA’s Annual Conferences. The breakfasts featured numerous renowned speakers and maintained a focus on women in leadership roles. Currently, ACSA staff has the responsibility for confirming speakers for this Women’s Leadership Summit breakfast. In addition, staff has organized numerous Women’s breakfasts at the annual Superintendents Symposium to provide an opportunity for ACSA female superintendents to network.

Over the years the number of females serving in top leadership positions in schools has remained relatively constant. For example in 1990, 17 percent of superintendent posts were filled by women. In the fall of 2006, only 16 percent of California superintendent jobs were held by women. Twenty-one percent of ACSA presidents have been female.

According to a 2007 report by EdSource, California’s principals are more diverse than superintendents and are more likely than superintendents to be female. As a group, female principals have been in their districts longer than their male counterparts (a median of 14 years versus 11 years). And 57 percent of female principals have been working in education 20 or more years, compared with 51 percent of male principals.

EdSource also reports a relationship between the gender of the principal and the level of school they lead. Elementary schools are more likely to have a female principal (69 percent). Middle schools have similar numbers of male (52 percent) and female (48 percent) principals. More men (61 percent) than women lead high schools.

In recent years, women in ACSA leadership roles have expressed strong interest in recharging an organized statewide Women’s Leadership Network to support female administrators and to provide greater networking opportunities in local areas. In 2008, ACSA Region 8 launched a Women’s Leadership Network, which hosts regular networking events throughout the region.

To find out more about the WLN, email ACSA's Assistant Executive Director of Communications, Julie White, at jwhite@acsa.org.