As historically marginalized groups, fe-
male educational leaders have unique cul-
tural needs. Overcoming barriers to equity
requires women leaders to push through the
limitations that have been set upon and in
front of them. Perseverance to overcome
sometimes emerges through external recog-
nition and nudges, such as those expressed
from many of the women leaders at WELR.
Some participants spoke about nurtur-
ers who saw beyond what they thought of
themselves; others saw their capabilities
and through encouragement and support
helped set in motion the trajectory of their
leadership careers. Leader after leader re-
ferred to the taps on the shoulder from their
principals, Human Resources directors and
professors. Nurturers seem to know that
those invitations to serve on teacher leader
committees, strategic planning teams, and
organizational boards are the seeds that fos-
ter women leadership. In the words of one
retreat participant,
“...but, women in particular for us, we all
need that, that someone to help take us by
the hand and say you can do this and this is
how you do it without losing your job. And
I always talk about that …You can be coura-
geous and keep your job.”
Leaders also spoke of their support and
motivation coming from the members of the
school communities in which they served.
Through the development of deeper rela-
tionships with students and families, they
were compelled to do more, form commu-
nity partnerships, and extend their educa-
tional degrees, for the specific purpose of
building their capacity to better serve mem-
bers of marginalized groups. One adminis-
trator shared,
“…my life was changing and my lens was
changing by immersing myself in the com-
munities that I was working in, and getting
to know those families in the way that I did,
and becoming really vulnerable myself.”
Another leader was compelled to further
her education when a young female African
American student looked at her and asked,
“You’re brown and you can be smart too?”
The opening of doors for these women lead-
ers also led to the opening of doors for mar-
ginalized students and their families (Ar-
riaga & Lindsey, 2016).
Several women leaders shared that once
they were set on the pathway of educational
leader, support from members in professional
organizations helped them sustain their ca-
reers. Some women spoke of the difference
networks made in developing confidence and
often served as the linchpin in securing a po-
sition as superintendent, as one leader shared:
“…(it’s) creating a space for yourself to learn
and to have not only a statewide network but a
national network, that has been huge in sup-
porting me... I told my board, ‘you’re not get-
ting one person, you're gaining a nationwide
network’, and so my superintendency is a col-
lective knowledge base that you’re getting.”
We also found in our conversations with
many women leaders, professional support
took the form of affinity groups that helped
address specific identity and cultural needs.
Time with each other allowed them to share
their stories and find support. They enjoy at-
tending conferences for women and specifi-
cally women of color.
In our quest to be culturally proficient, we
understand that women as a group are not
monocultural. As an example of the Guid-
ing Principle, diversity exists within group
identity, the diversity amongst women
leaders is vast, significant, and referred to
as intersectionality of identity. Women
identify by their gender, sexual orientation,
language, faith, ableness, and ethnicity. In-
tersectionality is the overlapping structures
of subordination in which marginalized
people are situated. It manifests itself in the
consequences of interactive oppressions, the
elimination of people’s experiences at the
intersections of multiple oppressions, and
the cultural construction of identities that
result in negative stereotypes that are used to
further discredit marginalized experiences
(Agosto & Roland, 2018). One educational
leader who is female, black, and gay, shared
that she is all of these identities, experiences,
and perspectives. While the retreat par-
ticipants appreciated the camaraderie that
existed in the all-female leadership cohort,
one woman wanted everyone to understand
an important element of gatherings is, The
intentionality around forming the network
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