Women account for 41 per cent of Ethiopia’s primary school teachers but hold only 7 percent of principal positions, according to a new national report.
The report comes following a study conducted by UNICEF Innocenti, the International Institute for Education Planning (IIEP-UNESCO) and Ethiopia’s Ministry of Education.
The report revealed that the disparity persists despite female and male teachers having broadly similar qualifications and career progression.
The report said structural and administrative barriers have limited women’s progression into principal positions.
One of the key changes came in 2019, when the Civil Service Commission’s Job Evaluation and Grading directive increased the minimum in-service experience required for principal positions from three years to 14 years.
Researchers noted that the requirement can disproportionately affect women, whose careers are more likely to be interrupted by maternity and caregiving responsibilities.
“While the intent was to standardize and professionalize leadership appointments, this change considerably narrowed the pool of eligible candidates. This represents a major institutional barrier to women’s leadership: given that women’s careers are more frequently interrupted by maternity leave, caregiving responsibilities and other domestic demands,” the report noted.
The report said the 14-year experience threshold has likely affected women teachers’ eligibility for principal positions, the report says.
The report identifies informal networks and established gender norms among the factors that can influence recruitment and promotion decisions against women teachers.
MG/abj/APA