By: Anna Cristina d’Addio, GEM Report
Across the globe, female politicians and education ministers remain underrepresented. Yet when they do attain leadership roles, their influence on education policy is profound. Women in power often champion inclusive, equitable education reform—and they stay in office longer, enabling deeper, more sustained change. The new 2025 Global Education Monitoring Gender Report, Women lead for learning, outlines how gender diversity in political leadership translates into measurable educational outcomes.
Over 2010-2023, only 27% of the world’s education and higher education ministers were female. Regional differences are stark: Europe and North America have the highest rates (41%), while Northern Africa and Western Asia trail behind (7%). Yet in these relatively few cases where women hold the top job in education, results speak volumes.
Countries with more women in cabinet-level education positions tend to spend more on education and prioritize issues like girls’ education, teacher working conditions, and early childhood development.
For example, in Germany, municipalities with a higher share of female councillors were more proactive in expanding public childcare services. In Argentina, female legislators were more likely than their male peers to sponsor and support bills on childcare, reproductive rights and domestic violence. In India, village councils led by women invested more women’s priorities like water and education.
A quantitative review of 19 OECD countries revealed that a 1 percentage point increase in female representation in lower houses is associated with a 0.04 percentage point increase in educational expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP). These figures reinforce the long-observed trend: women in politics direct policy attention toward the social sector.
In Rwanda, one of the world’s most gender-progressive legislatures, 61% of MPs are women. This political representation has helped establish policies that support gender-sensitive curricula and expand girls’ access to schooling. Yet paradoxically, only 30% of Rwandan school principals are female, showing that policy progress doesn’t always filter down to implementation.
Quotas are a proven tool for change. Where countries have adopted gender quotas for parliamentary seats, the results have been transformative. In Afghanistan before 2021, quotas boosted a 30% enrolment increase to public universities for women from districts with a low socioeconomic status. Namibia introduced a 30% gender quota in 1992 to ensure women’s representation in decision-making positions. In 2025, the country elected its first female president and vice president, while 50% of cabinet members are women.
Women also tend to remain longer in their ministerial posts. Longevity matters—particularly when systemic reform takes years to implement.
Still, glass ceilings persist in many senior education leadership positions. In the Arab States, female university presidents are rare. In 2018, Bahrain, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar and Yemen had no female university presidents, while the share was 3% in Iraq and 13% in Lebanon, Oman and Tunisia.
Even where women make up large shares of students and teachers, they remain marginalized in governance. In Saudi Arabia, women account for over 50% of tertiary enrolments but l% of university leadership. In Malaysia, women are more likely to be associate professors but less likely to be promoted to dean or rector.
Even where women make up large shares of students and teachers, they remain marginalized in governance. In Saudi Arabia, women account for over 50% of tertiary enrolments but less than 10% of university leadership positions. In Malaysia only 2 women were vice-chancellors in 20 public universities in 2020.
So what can drive change?
- Beyond quotas, countries must institutionalize leadership pipelines. This includes leadership training for women at the early and mid-career stages, sponsorship programmes that link them with senior political mentors, and governance reforms that improve transparency in appointments.
Some efforts are already underway. Among women that participated in a leadership training programme in sub-Saharan Africa, 91% found that it improved their leadership. In South Africa, mentoring networks among female parliamentarians have helped new members build confidence and legislative know-how. In Ireland, a network grown up from a workshop addressing barriers to education leadership for women and building ‘bridges’, summarized as ‘confidence, culture and childcare’, aims to support women in their journey through leadership with workshops and face-to-face meetings.
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- Changing mindsets is also essential. Gender stereotypes about who should lead persist in media portrayals, recruitment policies, and even education itself. Campaigns to highlight female leadership in politics—featuring ministers, mayors, and legislators—can challenge these stereotypes and normalize women in power.
- Finally, tracking gender parity in senior leadership roles is essential. Good quality data, helps accountability.
In sum, the inclusion of women in education governance is not merely symbolic. It changes outcomes—shifting priorities toward equity, increasing investments in human capital, and inspiring a new generation of female leaders. The challenge is no longer to prove that women can govern. It is to ensure they are given the chance.
Strategies are needed to equalize education leadership opportunities through integrated and holistic interventions. The GEM Report proposes three broad sets of recommendations to climb the ladder towards higher leadership positions:
- Find where the ladder is broken. Track women’s progression towards education leadership
- Fix the broken ladder. Repair systemic flaws
- Offer a helping hand up the ladder. Guide women’s ascent to leadership positions.
