This chapter focuses on the experiences of women who were P-20 educational leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected via electronic surveys from 20 respondents. Survey questions included information about demographics, professional duties, and personal responsibilities. This chapter includes a discussion of the authors' positionality, analyzes findings (situated in relevant literature), and presents implications for practice and further study. General findings indicate that the personal and professional lives of women educational leaders were significantly affected by the pandemic, with increased demands and limited support in both areas. Related implications include practices that support a healthy work-life balance and address the expectations affecting women educational leaders.
TopIntroduction
Educational leaders often usher organizations through change. Most educational leaders, however, could not have anticipated the immediate and extensive shifts that would occur as a result of the March 13, 2020 declaration of a National Emergency concerning the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States. Instruction was suddenly delivered remotely, sometimes with insufficient resources or little training (Lederman, 2020), new health and safety measures were instituted, and words like “nimble” or “flexible” became buzzwords. Everyone had to adapt - and quickly.
In 2020, women were faced with immediate and perpetual changes at work and at home. A myriad of studies (Boesch & Hamm, 2020; Carlson, Petts, & Pepin, 2020; Cohen & Hsu, 2020; Frederickson, 2020) suggest that these challenges were assumed unequally by men and women - with women disproportionately taking on more of the load (McKinsey and Company & Lean In [M&C & LI], 2020). Such challenges included ensuring the health and safety of loved ones; contributing to the family income; and supporting the learning needs of their children. Women educational leaders carried additional layers of responsibility: overseeing the health and well-being of students, staff, and faculty; securing resources (tangible and intangible) for unanticipated costs of switching to remote instruction; and supporting the teaching-learning experiences of students, faculty, and school-families (Lederman, 2020). They may not describe their experience as thriving, yet women educational leaders arrived at the end of the academic year and began planning for the next.
Admittedly, the pandemic affected all people and every aspect of work-life and home-life. This chapter explores one segment of the American population: specifically, women educational leaders. The overarching research question was, “What are the experiences of women educational leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic?” To address this question, a survey developed by the authors was administered to P-20 women educational leaders. Sub-questions included
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How are women educational leaders navigating the multi-roles (academic leaders, professor, homeschool teacher, parent) during the pandemic?
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How have women educational leaders’ approaches to leadership changed during the pandemic?
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What advice and suggestions do women educational leaders share?
This chapter highlights the challenges and successes encountered by women in educational leadership roles during the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores the multi-roles and responsibilities of balancing both professional and personal lives while women in leadership are working and caring for the family, homeschooling, and running the household. What follows is a review of relevant literature, presentation of methods, positionality descriptions, and discussion of findings with implications for future research and practice.