Women on a Plateau in the Superintendency
March 01, 2020
Appears in March 2020: School Administrator.
Two veterans have their theories and suggested remedies for promoting more female candidates into the top district roles
![Susan Enfield](/images/default-source/school-administrator/2020-march/37-susan-enfield-hpsschoolboardmp-113.jpg?sfvrsn=ada124f7_7)
Seventeen years ago, a brand-new superintendent was excited to attend her first statewide conference of superintendents. She thought she would use this opportunity to learn, meet new colleagues and mentors and find a support network.
As she
picked up her name badge along with other administrators and entered the elevator to head to the conference’s first session, a male superintendent asked, “Where are you from?” As she greeted him and his male colleagues with her name
and district, one looked at her and said, “I didn’t think superintendents were supposed to bring their pretty, young secretaries.”
It is worth noting the year was 2003, not 1953.
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Authors
About the Authors
Susan Enfield is superintendent of Highline Public Schools in Burien, Wash.
Kristine Gilmore is superintendent of the D.C. Everest Area School District in Weston, Wis.
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