Gender Focus | Global School Leaders

Promoting gender equitable schools through school leadership

Improving the representation of women in school leadership roles and ensuring they have the support the require.

Why Gender Matters in School Leadership

Across the world, women constitute the majority of primary school teachers, yet leadership roles are predominantly male-dominated. In OECD countries, women represent 68% of teachers but only 47% of school leaders, and the gap is even wider in low- and middle-income countries, where only 26% of school leaders are women. This underrepresentation is shaped by systemic, cultural, and personal barriers, from biased hiring practices to limited professional development and deep-rooted gender norms. Beyond limiting opportunities for women, these barriers also affect students—our 2023 PULS Survey found that many school leaders hold biases about student capabilities based on gender. To create truly inclusive schools, we must equip school leaders with the knowledge and skills to foster gender-equitable leadership.

Our Approach

To address these challenges, we are focusing on:

Fostering Gender-Responsive Leadership: Empowering school leaders to implement gender-equitable practices, ensuring that all educational policies and practices promote equity.
Enhancing Female Representation in Leadership: Actively supporting the increase of women in school leadership roles, recognizing their crucial role in driving systemic change.
Creating Spaces for Collective Learning: Promoting the local knowledge and experiences of our partners and facilitating the dissemination of best practices globally.

Our Initiatives & Resources

Fostering Gender-Responsive Leadership

Shakti / Kanya

Shakti 1.0 focused on training school leaders to support girls’ return to school post-COVID-19 and ensure their continued education through gender-inclusive re-enrollment, addressing inequity, and engaging girls in learning in India and Kenya. Shakti 2.0 built on this by empowering school leaders to create gender-responsive environments—partnering with Alokit in India to address safety in 30 girls' residential schools and with Inspirasi in Indonesia to tackle gender-based challenges in 30 co-ed schools. Learn more about Shakti.

Gender Equitable Schools Program (GESP)

The Gender Equitable Schools Program (GESP) is designed to help school leaders establish gender-equitable learning environments by implementing interventions to improve students’ attendance, participation, and sense of belonging. The program is currently being implemented in 160 schools in Rangareddy, Telangana, India, in partnership with Alokit and is funded by Echidna Giving and the Vitol Foundation.

GESP is testing two approaches to gender equity training for school leaders. One approach integrates gender equity within a broader equity-focused training, while the other delivers standalone gender equity training. This research will help determine which method is most effective in creating gender-responsive schools.

Stories and Guidebook for Gender Equity

In partnership with Heroínas Peruanas, we are currently in the process of developing two resources:

A guidebook for organizations working with school leaders including activities and insights on gender equity and its relationship with foundational concepts, school environments, gender-responsive teaching, school policies, and family engagement.
A storybook showcasing inspiring school leaders from Asia, Latin America, and Africa who promote gender equity. These stories aim to highlight the role school leaders have in creating gender-equitable schools in different contexts and inspire others to advocate for gender equity. The stories can be read on their own or used with the guidebook.

Enhancing Female Representation in Leadership:

SheLeads

SheLeads is an ongoing 11-month virtual program designed to support women school leaders through professional development and peer connections. Launched in January 2025, the pilot cohort includes 20 participants from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The program tackles systemic and cultural barriers to gender equity in school leadership by:

Building leadership skills to help women navigate gender-based challenges.
Fostering peer support through regional groups for shared learning and collaboration.
Advocating for gender equity by amplifying women’s voices in school leadership.

Creating Spaces for Collective Learning

Understanding Systematic Barriers to Gender Equity in School Leadership Research

In partnership with UNICEF Innocenti and Women Educational Researchers of Kenya (WERK), we are conducting research studies in Ghana and Kenya to examine the systemic conditions, structural barriers, and biases that impact gender equity in school leadership and education. Using a mixed-method approach, we have interviewed key educational stakeholders, school leaders, and teachers, to gain deeper insights into the challenges and opportunities within the system. The findings will serve as a foundation for advocating stronger policies and programs that promote gender equity in school leadership.

Next Steps

Through our gender-focused programs, we have seen a growing awareness of gender biases among school leaders. Participants have reported greater confidence in addressing gender-related challenges and a stronger commitment to fostering gender-equitable school environments. As we move forward, our focus will be on:

Building networks to support women at every stage of their careers to have the opportunity and resources to access leadership roles.
Generating evidence on gender and school leadership, highlighting challenges and best practices to inform policies and advocate for equitable systems.
Sharing resources that can be adapted and contextualized by organizations to foster gender-responsive school leadership.