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Challenges Experienced by Women of Color in Educational Leadership

Challenges Experienced by Women of Color in Educational Leadership

Ronald Morgan (National University, USA), Kitty M. Fortner (California State University, Dominquez Hills, USA), and Kimmie Tang (California State University, Dominquez Hills, USA)
Copyright: © 2021 |Pages: 25
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7235-1.ch004
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Abstract

There continue to be many issues women of color face as they pursue both an advanced education and leadership positions in education. There appears to be an increase in the number of women of color seeking advanced degrees and pursuing educational leadership positions, but the numbers are still small overall. While some educational stakeholders have worked to increase the number of women of color in educational leadership positions, it has been minimal. A central question that is often asked is, How does a school ensure that the educational leaders are capable of moving forward, with meeting the needs of a diverse student body? Many advocates say promoting a more diverse group of educational leaders, especially women of color, will only help increase student success. Increasing the number of women of color in educational leadership positions can help have a positive effect on the issues of racism, poverty, aggression, oppression, hostility, or even privilege.
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Background

Exploring the many issues women of color face as they pursued both a terminal degree and leadership positions in education illuminated the fact that obstacles and challenges block their paths, creating unnecessary stress and anxiety for many women of color. However, there was found to be minimal research on this subject. While there appears to be an increase in the number of women of color seeking advanced degrees and pursuing educational leadership positions, the numbers are still small overall. Some of the research centered on women of color being change agents in their educational leadership positions. Fullan (2001) believed an effective change agent possesses skills in three main capacities: developing relationships of trust, communicating the change vision effectively, and empowering others to take action toward change. With key stakeholders working to increase the number of women of color in educational leadership positions, the focus has been on a culture of shared leadership with distributed ownership and common communities of practice (Trybus, 2011).

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