Chapter 5: Building Bridges to Address Issues of Gender: School Leaders’ Role in Promoting Equity

Many of today’s girls are academically achieving in unprecedented numbers, including university matriculation, admissions to law school, and admissions to medical school. However, the current cultural context promotes a limiting, sexualized identity for girls and women that can negatively impact their self-concept, limit academic success, and circumscribe their postsecondary options. This chapter will provide information for education leaders who wish to create a school climate that fosters a healthy self-image for girls. We also discuss methods for increasing faculty and stakeholder awareness of the problem and provide implications for systemic change.