How can international schools create and retain diverse leadership teams? The ISN Community recently discussed and exchanged insights on this vital topic
Having a diverse leadership team is crucial for all international schools.
However, with barriers still disrupting the path to leadership for many groups of people, genuinely diverse teams are not the norm yet. What should educators and leaders do?
Sian May, head of school at Alice Smith, Kuala Lumpur, asked the ISN Community: “Having a diverse leadership team creates a more inclusive school environment that shows students of all backgrounds that they, too, can become leaders in their lives.
"With this in mind, how can we authentically encourage a greater diversity of leaders in international education?”
It's important that we keep an eye on our own biases when it comes to who gets promoted within an organization or company
Kimberly Hall, music teacher at the American School of Kinshasa, outlined a series of actions educators should take to create diverse leadership teams:
“I think we can encourage a greater diversity of leaders in international education by making sure that the people who have traditionally been excluded from positions of power are given opportunities to participate in the process.
“We need to make sure that everyone has an equal chance to apply for leadership positions, and if someone is not qualified for a particular position, we need to provide them with the training they need to prepare themselves for one.
“We also need to make sure that those who do manage to get into positions of power are held accountable for their actions. Finally, it's important that we keep an eye on our own biases when it comes to who gets promoted within an organization or company. We can't afford for these biases to affect who gets selected for leadership roles or promotions because this leads us down a path where we end up with homogenous leadership teams instead of diverse ones.”
As a divorced, single mother of two, I have been told my ‘situation’ is not going to be a good fit
Heather Carreiro, associate director of marketing & communications at Midland School in the US, shared her own experience of what she refers to as ‘the broken rung’, highlighting how barriers sometimes come up immediately upon the first step onto the leadership path.
“At my very first job fair for international teaching posts, I was turned away from an interview sign-up table with a school director, who waved me off and gave me this nugget to ponder, ‘International education is a ladder, and you are at the bottom.’
“That was in 2006, and sadly I think the ladder analogy is alive and well. People are expected to follow a certain path, climbing rungs which are often only made available through connections and/or privileges afforded by a certain passport, gender, sexual orientation, family status, or skin color. As a divorced, single mother of two, I have been told my ‘situation’ is not going to be a good fit, or simply that suitable housing options don’t exist for educators in my ‘hiring category.’ Very often, for leadership jobs, the hiring manager is working from the mindset of a bright line test which may be too restrictive and end up weeding out certain candidates who could have been a good fit.
If people ultimately feel that they are the 'other,' they will be prompted to look for a more inclusive work environment
“These barriers and others can prevent a more diverse crop of leaders from moving forward on the career path. The McKinsey Women in the Workplace Study 2021 confirms this ladder analogy is alive and well: ‘There is still a “broken rung” at the first step up to manager. Since 2016, we have seen the same trend: women are promoted to manager at far lower rates than men, and this makes it nearly impossible for companies to lay a foundation for sustained progress at more senior levels.’
“In order to recruit and retain more diverse leaders at the senior level, we need to work from the ground up to encourage and promote diverse talent in a more equitable and welcoming way. If people ultimately feel that they are the 'other,' they will be prompted to look for a more inclusive work environment where their talents are valued.”
And Mark Stacey, head of Sixth Form at the Kellett School, The British International School in Hong Kong, concluded: “Here we must actively recruit and identify talent and see this not as the slippery slope to positive discrimination but rather as a chance to enhance decision making and increase the robustness of leadership teams.
“Creating 'tours of duty' as advocated by The Alliance would be a good start and give the opportunity for those learning to lead to step up in a lower pressure situation and learn from their colleagues.”
For further inspiration and guidance, watch this video interview with Kevin Simpson, founder of AIELOC, discussing how schools can create a culture that can attract and retain diverse talent.
What are your thoughts on this crucial issue? How does your school invest time and resources to create and retain a leadership team that is truly diverse? What other actions should be taken? Feel free to get involved in the discussion: Register for your free profile and leave a response below!
If this is not your topic, or you have already contributed to the discussion, you can check out the other questions that ISN Community members have been discussing and have your say! Or why don’t you ask a question yourself on a topic close to your heart?
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