headteacher-secondary

teachwire.net S TA F F I N G population is becoming increasingly diverse in terms of ethnicity, the equivalent representation of ethnicity and gender amongst the leadership of schools remains stubbornly low.” Given the proportion of their lives that children spend at school, it’s important that their learning environments mirror their local communities in terms of gender, race and ethnicity. This helps break down pupils’ misconceptions, but also lays the groundwork for a more equitable future. ‘He’ for ‘she’ Far from finding themselves alienated from the cause, men have been encouraged to join the movement to increase female representation at the senior levels of education, and my experience with #WomenEd has shown this to be an intentional part of the strategy. Chris Hildrew, headteacher at Churchill Academy and Sixth Form, is one of many fighting the good fight. As well as being among the contributors to WomenEd’s first book, 10% Braver , Hildrew has sought to spread the word about the ways in which men can help create a more inclusive work environment for their female colleagues and support equitable promotion practices. He encourages his male colleagues to check their privilege at the door Difficult decision-making is a core part of any leadership role, and something men and women are equally capable of, yet perceptions of this can radically diverge when viewed through traditional gender stereotypes. Men are seen as naturally strong leaders capable of making balanced decisions, while their female counterparts are often positioned as being unable to avoid personal bias or hidden agendas. Reverse mentoring schemes allow male mentees to learn more about their female colleagues’ perspectives and experiences, thus reducing barriers to progression and helping to tackle such stereotypes head-on. The pay gap In 2018, education was found to have the third largest pay gap of all industry sectors in the UK, sitting alongside finance and construction – both quite unlike education in having a predominantly masculine workforce. The pay gap in education is evident at all levels, from primary through to higher education. However, given that equal pay for equal roles is assured in the UK through Parliamentary legislation, the pay gap seems less about equal pay and more about underrepresentation within senior ranks. According to Vivienne Porritt, vice president at the Chartered College of Teaching and co-founder of WomenEd, unconscious bias has much to answer for. “Women are trained to not promote their own agendas, but instead focus on the needs of others,” she says. It’s these behaviours, shaped by stereotypes encountered at a young age, that can continue to influence the ‘female’ approach to job applications, and salary negotiations. Porritt suggests that women negotiate their salary from the very start of their career, as this sets a positive precedent. It’s an idea backed by trend analysis, which shows that those who don’t negotiate their salary in their first teaching job are far less likely to negotiate future offers. Alongside that is the disheartening statistic that only 7% of women in education attempt salary negotiations compared to 57% of men – something that could perhaps be remedied through confidence-building activities and developing more supportive workplaces and networks. For all that, though, the tide is turning. I witnessed this for myself at the aforementioned WomenEd unconference, when women who had leveraged the support of peers and WomeEd itself proudly took us through their career progression over the preceeding 12 months. It showed that by reaffirming the values of confidence, collaboration, and community, the gender balance in senior leadership positions is bound to change. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Victoria Cameron is an account executive with Mango at PLMR. THE ROADMAPTOAMORE EQUITABLE FUTURE: + Build a pipeline to ensure female career progression + Develop recruitment strategies that actively increase the number of female and BAME applicants + Conduct regular reviews and appraisals + Reflect on the attitudes of senior leadership teams + Provide access to professional networks and mentorship “In the UK, 62%of teachers in secondary school are women but only 39%of heads are female – an imbalance also evident at the global level” and carefully consider what implicit biases may be informing their decision- making and judgements as a crucial first step. Another useful practice he supports is regularly celebrating the achievements of female teachers, and the implementation of a reverse mentoring scheme. 23