Empowering Future Female Leaders

In a recently published article, Long Beach Unified School District Superintendent Jill A. Baker details how coaching, confidence and clarity will attract more women to the superintendent role.

The article, “Building the Next Generation of Women Leaders,” appears in the September edition of Leadership Magazine, a publication of the Association of California School Administrators. 

Baker is the first female superintendent in the 135-year history of LBUSD and is among only four female superintendents currently serving the largest 15 districts in California.

The article notes the unique role superintendents play in developing future leaders and ensuring female leaders are empowered to seek promotional opportunities. Coaching opportunities and women mentoring women are some of the strategies Baker recommends for creating a culture where women can thrive as leaders.

“While we are busy doing the work of leading schools, central offices and districts, it is incumbent on us, especially as female leaders, to ‘see something in others’ and then to strategically and intentionally develop them to lead into the future,” shared Baker.

“With 76 percent of educators across the nation being women, the question isn’t, ‘Are there enough women to draw from?’ The question should be, ‘What are we willing to do differently to ensure that women, and especially women of color, have the opportunities and support they need to take on all of the leadership roles that our students deserve?’ Our students are counting on us.”