Work-family Conflicts and the Organizational Work Culture as Barriers to Women Educational Managers

This article examines perceived barriers and the influence they play in the professional and personal lives of women educational managers in Spain. A survey of 206 female school heads from pre-primary and primary schools shows that the women administrators face several perceived barriers: a lack of support from the governing educational authority; insufficient preparation and in-service training and an absence of equity-based support policies from the government and reconciliation policies to make the dual roles of mother-professional compatible. The study further found that role conflict and certain features of the organizational work culture, particularly the management culture, which was generally perceived as strongly masculine, and the scant appreciation of administrative work compared with teaching, were the factors that contributed to delaying or avoiding accession to the post of headship in schools.