Women School Leaders Can Help Students Succeed, but Barriers Still Stand in Their Way

Women account for 35 per cent of principals in Madagascar’s public primary schools and more than half of those in the private sector, figures that conceal substantial differences across regions.

Two new policy briefs from UNESCO's International Institute for Educational Planning in Africa examine women's leadership in primary schools in Benin and Madagascar, showing how opportunities for women and the support they receive connect with student success. Published in 2026 and authored by Nathalie Guilbert, Jihane Lamouri and Fabricia Devignes, the briefs underline the need to address gender barriers and give school leaders the preparation, working conditions and professional backing their responsibilities demand.

Benin's leadership gap carries a cost for schools

Women held just 17 per cent of primary school leadership positions in Benin in 2022, with their presence concentrated more heavily in urban centres. The Benin policy brief identifies several barriers that restrict their progression, including social expectations about women's roles, constraints associated with postings, security concerns and unequal access to the qualifications needed to advance. These obstacles can narrow a woman's career choices before she reaches the point of applying for a leadership position, making recruitment only one part of a much wider problem.

The findings give education authorities a reason to examine who gets the opportunity to lead and what makes that opportunity accessible. In comparable educational contexts, female leadership in Benin's public schools is associated with better retention of girls, with stronger learning outcomes also observed in rural areas. These associations do not establish that a principal's gender alone causes better results; they point to the importance of understanding the conditions under which women's leadership can contribute to children staying in school and learning more effectively.

Madagascar shows why location and qualifications matter

Women account for 35 per cent of principals in Madagascar's public primary schools and more than half of those in the private sector, figures that conceal substantial differences across regions. According to the Madagascar policy brief, women are more commonly found leading schools in urban areas and in regions where they already represent a larger proportion of teachers. National averages offer only a partial picture of access to leadership, because opportunities vary considerably depending on where a teacher works.

Qualifications emerge as an important part of the relationship between school leadership and learning, particularly in rural areas, where the brief highlights their role in enabling principals to make a positive contribution. Increasing women's representation therefore needs to be accompanied by access to the professional preparation that helps them fulfil their responsibilities. A leadership appointment creates an opportunity to influence a school's direction, but the value of that opportunity depends partly on the knowledge, skills and support available to the person taking it on.

An appointment needs to come with practical support

Both publications call for clear appointment criteria, training, continuing professional support and better working conditions for school principals. Action against harassment and harmful gender norms belongs within that effort, alongside measures that make remote postings more attractive and address the difficulties that can discourage women from accepting them. Professionalising school leadership means treating the role as work that requires preparation and sustained support, with conditions that allow both female and male principals to carry out their duties fully.

For Jihane Lamouri, a gender-sensitive educational policy planner at IIEP-UNESCO in Africa, supporting women principals involves creating the institutional, professional and social conditions that allow them to exercise leadership fully. The two briefs place that responsibility firmly with education systems: progress depends on opening routes into leadership and ensuring that the people appointed have a fair chance to succeed, so that greater representation can translate into meaningful benefits for students.