responsible for flowers, notice-boards and coffee, there were also a number of
references to having 'token' women at interviews. These are issues that are now only
rarely mentioned.
However, the fact that a half of secondary women heads are still answering positively
about experience of discrimination is concerning, particularly as some of the women
who answered 'no' to the question then went on to give actual examples of sexist
behaviour that they had experienced. There seems to be a tendency for at least
some of the women to deny or to rise above the experience of sexist behaviour and
remarks and to discount them. The actual proportion of women who have
experienced sexism is therefore more than the 50 per cent of secondary heads and
30 per cent of primary heads who responded positively. For example one woman
head in her early 50s said: 'too difficult to specify, just feelings/perceptions/manner of
being talked down to, therefore I have said "no".'
The proportion of men secondary heads saying that they had experience of sexism in
relation to applications has also reduced since the late 1990s. At that time most of
them were recognising sexism towards women, although a few felt that they were
discriminated against as men, particularly at deputy head level, where they perceived
that women might have an advantage if a sex balance was sought in the senior
management team. This idea is still present amongst men in 2004.
Family responsibilities
The largest proportion of comments about discrimination from both primary and
secondary women heads relate to family responsibilities, particularly having children.
For example one primary school head in her late 30s said that she experienced:
'comments (constant) regarding my role and how it sits with being a mother of four
young children - implication is I'm not doing a good job either as mother or head
teacher.' A woman secondary head in her early 40s said tha:t 'I was asked at
interview what my husband would say if I was appointed.' As can be seen in the later
section on life/work balance a large proportion of women primary heads are married
with children and there are now more women secondary heads married with children
than was the case in the 1990s. Although there has been progress for women in
secondary schools who wish to combine family and career, there is still reluctance
about appointing women with families. Commenting on sexism in applications one
woman head now in her mid 40s said that she had been: 'asked to withdraw my
application for a teaching job with responsibilities when I told them I was pregnant.'
A female secondary head in her early 40s mentioned sexism in relation to her: 'first
application for headship following maternity leave from colleagues and governors.'
Another woman secondary head now in her early 50s showed the difficulties that
women can face in respect to combining a senior position with motherhood: 'my
seniors thought the work I was leading would fall apart when I became pregnant. I
took four weeks maternity leave and it did not.'
A woman secondary head in her late 40s commented on a:
Very sexist headteacher who appointed me the assistant head. When I
worked with him I knew I had been right not to mention family at the interview.
A woman primary head in her late 30s mentioned: 'older male dismissive of my
aspirations as I was a woman with a young child'. These attitudes are part of a wider
view reflected in what the heads report: that is that women are often simply seen as
not fitted for leadership and men are preferred. This belief is compounded for
younger women.