NYSAWA and Women Leading Ed have released a new statewide study examining gender and the path to the superintendency in New York.
The numbers raise an important question: If women make up nearly 60% of New York’s principals, why do they hold just 32.3% of superintendent positions?
The State of Superintendency and Gender in New York looks beyond that gap to examine leadership pathways, superintendent search processes, regional differences and the experiences of women education leaders across the state.
Among the key findings:
- The path narrows. Women lead 69.8% of elementary schools, compared with 43.6% of senior high schools.
- Leadership roles are not evenly distributed. Women hold 67.4% of academic cabinet positions, but 47.4% of operational roles such as finance, facilities and operations.
- Geography matters. Across New York’s 37 BOCES regions, women’s share of superintendent positions ranges from 11.1% to 55.6%.
- How we search matters. The study found differences in hiring outcomes across superintendent search processes, highlighting an area for further examination and improvement.
The study combines statewide data on superintendents and district leadership, an analysis of superintendent searches, and interviews with women education leaders across New York. Drawing on multiple public and administrative datasets, the research captures a snapshot of leadership in Fall 2025. Annual data collection each fall will build a longitudinal picture of educational leadership across the state.
The findings point to an important distinction: this is not simply a question of whether qualified women are ready to lead. It is also a question of how leadership pathways are structured, how candidates are identified and how opportunities to lead are created.
The study outlines opportunities to strengthen search practices, expand leadership pathways and support the advancement of qualified leaders across New York.
We invite school and district leaders, board members, policymakers and others across the education community to read the study and consider what its findings mean for the future of educational leadership.
Download the full report: The State of Superintendency and Gender in New York: A research partnership between NYSAWA × Women Leading Ed
Join Us For a Deeper Dive
Want to take the conversation further? Join NYSAWA and Women Leading Ed on Tuesday, October 27, 4-5 p.m. for a webinar featuring a closer look at the study, followed by a panel discussion exploring what the findings mean for educational leadership in New York.
Hear more about the data, the experiences behind the findings and the opportunities to strengthen leadership pathways across the state.