Women make up the majority of the secondary teaching workforce, yet hold just 41.5 per cent of headteacher posts. A significant reason for this, as shown by the MTPT Project’s research, is the ‘parenthood penalty’. My own research set out to understand it more deeply so that we can break down this barrier to opportunity.
My doctoral research looked into women’s perceptions and lived experiences of secondary headship. In the process, a recurring theme soon emerged: the deeply embedded belief that motherhood and school leadership are somehow incompatible.
Many women felt they had an impossible choice to make: be a nurturing, present parent or an effective headteacher. Rarely were they shown a path that embraced both.
My research explored how gender-related factors such as pregnancy, maternity and motherhood intersect with women’s leadership trajectories.
Using a qualitative methodology, I collected rich, narrative accounts from headteachers across state and independent secondary schools in England.
What I found, through semi-structured interviews and detailed questionnaires, was that the tension between motherhood and leadership is more than anecdotal.
What emerges is clear: persistent barriers still limit women’s access to and ability to remain in headship. Many spoke of being discouraged from applying for headship, overlooked for promotion or subjected to subtle and overt bias.
“You’re brilliant, but you’ll be too stretched,” one mother was told by her headteacher. “How will you cope with this job and young children?”, an interviewer asked another – a question never asked of men.
These moments were not isolated. Participants spoke of attending meetings while recovering from childbirth, responding to safeguarding issues while on maternity leave, and even checking emails from their hospital bed, “not because I had to but because I was afraid someone would question my dedication.”
Change is possible and is already happening in some schools
Structural limitations also played a role. Few had encountered models of part-time headship, job-sharing or flexible senior leadership roles. While flexible working is more available for classroom teachers, it remains rare in leadership, particularly in the secondary sector.
In spite of these barriers and contrary to these widely-held assumptions, I also found that many women credit their children with making them stronger leaders: more empathetic, decisive and grounded.
The good news is that change is possible and is already happening in some schools. Supportive policies, mentoring, visibility of women leaders and peer networks like #WomenEd and The MTPT Project are making a real difference.
“I realised it wasn’t me that was broken; it was the model of leadership I’d been shown,” one participant said.
And when systems adapt, women not only stay; they succeed. With purposeful changes to policy, greater flexibility and a culture that truly values the contribution of parent-leaders, schools can retain and nurture exceptional talent.
My research led me to three key recommendations for school and system leaders.
First, there must be a serious commitment to reforming leadership pathways. This means making part-time and job-share headship not only possible, but visible and embracing flexible and remote working practices that reflect the realities of modern family life.
Second, we must interrogate our recruitment processes for bias. From the language used in adverts to the composition of interview panels, assumptions about what a headteacher ‘should’ look like should not limit the field of candidates.
Third, investment in coaching, mentoring and leadership development is vital. These programmes must be inclusive and proactively support women returning from maternity leave, or stepping into leadership later in their careers.
Fourth, visibility is its own form of leadership. As one headteacher told me, “I applied for headship because I finally saw someone doing it on their terms. That’s what gave me the courage.”
Finally, culture matters. Schools must move away from the myth of the heroic, ever-available head. Leadership should not be about self-sacrifice but sustainability, authenticity, and values.
What women need is not a reworking of their ambition, but a rewiring of the system. Because motherhood and headship are not mutually exclusive. When the system evolves to support both, the whole profession benefits.
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