About Us
We Are Women Leading Ed
Women Leading Ed is an ever-expanding national network of district and state education leaders. We support and advance the leadership of women through research, advocacy and engagement with women at every stage of their leadership journey.
Our Story
Women Leading Ed first began as an affinity group of seasoned and aspiring women education leaders with a desire to learn from one another and grow in our careers. As many of us applied for state and district superintendent positions, we wanted to know more about the proportion of women leading school districts and state departments of education nationwide. In partnership with the Superintendent Research Project, we collected data that revealed stark gender equity and pay gaps in education leadership across the nation’s 500 largest school districts. We knew we had to do more to stem this crisis — and Women Leading Ed was born.
What We Believe
The underrepresentation of women and women of color in education leadership is an urgent issue that demands action.
As educators, we devote ourselves to expanding young people’s sense of what they can become and achieve. Yet at the same time that we are telling girls they can be anything they want to be, we know that women in education face many more barriers than their male counterparts, and, as a result, women are dramatically underrepresented in leadership roles nationwide.
We are committed to enacting policies and practices that enable more women to rise into the top roles and succeed as the CEO at the district, state, and federal level.
What We Offer
In addition to our annual #WomenLeadingEd Summit, we offer a variety of coaching and networking opportunities, including:
Individual and group coaching, including support entering and advancing in searches, and building the foundations for long-term impact
Monthly virtual meetings and access to experts, including current and former women superintendents
Facilitated peer networking within and across cohorts
Practical learning opportunities to build skills and resilience as women go for the top jobs and sustain in them for the long-run
