Dissonance Toward Women Aspiring for the Top

Type: Article
Topics: Equity, School Administrator Magazine

March 01, 2020

Marilou Ryder and Mona Montgomery
Mona Montgomery (right) at Brandman University’s graduation with her adviser, Marilou Ryder, whose study on women advancing toward the superintendency she replicated 20 years later for her doctoral dissertation.

Two young superintendents, one male and one female, are introduced to their respective school districts a week after signing contracts with their respective school boards. That’s where the similarities end. Their welcoming experiences take divergent paths.

The female superintendent is asked by her board of education how she will balance work and family life once on the job. She is questioned on how she does it all. She explains she has a nanny, a highly supportive spouse, gets many things she needs delivered to home and outsources many of the household chores.

The male superintendent is not asked at all about his work-life balance or how he contributes to the raising of his family. He is asked if he is a golfer.

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Author

Mona Montgomery

Principal

Lomarena Elementary School in Laguna Hills, Calif.

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