Turnover, gender gaps and racial disparities remain major factors in the makeup of the superintendency in the nation’s largest K12 districts.
One in every five of the biggest school systems underwent changes in leadership between July 2023 and July 2024, according to the 2024 Superintendent Research Project, an annual analysis by the ILO Group education consultancy. That’s only a slight decrease from 2022-2023, and both figures exceed the 14% to 16% seen in prior years, the report noted.
One number that remains steady is the gap between male and female superintendents. In both 2023 and 2024, about three in 10 superintendents were women even though they held 80% of teaching positions and a majority of principalships. The lack of growth in female leadership was seen simultaneously in the private sector, including in Fortune 500 companies, the report asserted.
Superintendents in the move: Retirements outpace new hires this week
Leaders of color are superintendents in 200 of the 500 largest districts, with 72 of those positions held by women of color.
“Amidst continued high turnover at the top, the barriers preventing the advancement of talented women, especially women of color, remain deeply entrenched in our education systems,” said Julia Rafal-Baer, founder and CEO of the ILO Group. “Women are frequently diverted from crucial leadership opportunities through biased career pathways, damaging stereotypes about their leadership capabilities and inequitable pay.”
Digging deeper into the data, the report found that male superintendents replace other men seven out of 10 times and replace women six out of 10 times.
The report also found “markedly different percentages of women” in top education positions in large districts in different areas of the county. Here’s how many superintendents are women or women of color in each region:
Northeast (37 districts):
- Women: 20 (54%)
- Women of color: 15 (41%)
Midwest (65 districts):
- Women: 20 (31%)
- Women of color: 13 (20%)
West (149 districts):
- Women: 44 (30%)
- Women: 15 (10%)
Southeast (152 districts):
- Women: 33 (22%)
- Women of color: 16 (11%)
Southwest (97 districts):
- Women: 36 (37%)
- Women of color: 13 (13%)
The research is the basis of the nonprofit Women Leading Ed initiative’s policy playbook for closing the gender gap in the superintendency.
