UNESCO GEM report flags gender gap in education leadership

Highlights under-representation despite women dominating teaching roles

UNESCO’s 2025 Gender Report, released as a companion to the 2024/5 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, highlights a persistent gender gap in education leadership, despite women comprising the majority of the teaching workforce.

A report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisaton (UNESCO) has found a persistent gender gap in education leadership, despite women forming the majority of the teaching workforce.

In a press statement, UNESCO says that the report, Gender Report, Women Lead for Learning, seeks to examine global data on gender parity in education and was launched recently during the Education World Forum in London.

UNESCO says that while women make up the majority of teaching staff in many parts of the world, the report finds that men continue to dominate educational leadership roles, from school principals to university presidents and government ministers.

It adds that in primary education, the figures remain stark. In 2019, only 16 pc of primary school principals across 14 francophone African countries were women. The numbers were as low as 10 pc in Guinea and 11 pc in Burkina Faso.

According to the statement, in Asia, just 18 pc of Grade V students in Cambodia, 25 pc in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and 41 pc in Malaysia were enrolled in schools with female principals. By contrast, women make up a higher proportion of school leaders in much of Central and Eastern Europe and in several countries in Latin America.

The statement says that this trend continues into secondary education. While women constitute 57 pc of secondary teachers globally, a gender gap of 20 pc exists in school leadership across 70 countries with available data.

UNESCO says that at the tertiary level, women account for 45 pc of academic staff but just 30 pc of leadership positions. In 2018, there were no female University Presidents in Bahrain, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar or Yemen. In Malaysia, only two of the 20 public universities had women Vice-Chancellors, and in Bangladesh, the number stood at one in 46. In Europe, only 19 pc of top academic roles in engineering and technology are held by women.

The UN organisation says that between 2010 and 2023, only 27 pc of Education and Higher Education Ministers were women. However, the report notes that women Ministers tended to remain in office four months longer on average than their male counterparts.

The statement says that according to the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), female school leaders are more likely to focus on inclusive, collaborative, and student-focussed practices. Women principals reportedly devote more time to curriculum and parent-student interaction, while male principals prioritise administration and discipline.

The UN organisation says that in Africa, in Benin, Madagascar, Senegal and Togo, schools led by women achieved gains in reading and mathematics equivalent to an additional year of learning. In Southeast Asia, children in women-led schools gained the equivalent of four months of learning in Myanmar, five in Cambodia, and six in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, according to the 2019 SEA-PLM survey.

UNESCO says that the report also links women’s political participation with improved educational outcomes. During the Covid-19 pandemic, there was 13 pc increase in the share of women ministers correlated with a 24 pc reduction in the duration of school closures. In 19 high-income countries, a one percentage-point increase in the share of women in lower houses of parliament led to a 0.04 percentage point increase in education spending as a share of GDP. In 191 countries between 1990 and 2020, greater women’s representation in parliament aligned with improvements in gender parity in education.

As per statement, the report outlines several persistent barriers. Leadership is still viewed as a male trait in many settings, limiting women’s access to leadership pathways. In France, a one-hour talk by female scientists led to a 3 pc increase in grade 12 girls enrolling in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programmes, highlighting the role of role models.

UNESCO says that bias in hiring practices also affects outcomes. In the United States, districts where women held 75 pc or more of school board seats appointed women to 48 pc of superintendent positions. In male-majority boards, the figure dropped to 33 pc. Yet only 11 pc of countries promote gender parity in the selection of school leaders.

The statement says that women also face limited access to professional development. Among education leadership survey respondents in sub-Saharan Africa, 28 pc cited lack of mentorship, 22 pc cited lack of networking, and 24 pc cited a lack of access to leadership training as key challenges.

According to the statement, to discuss these findings, Global School Leaders and the GEM Report will host a webinar titled #SheLeads: Women Lead for Learning on June 4, where they will unpack the report’s key insights and their implications for policy and practice.