The impact of culture on women's leadership in Vanuatu secondary schools

Abstract

The government of Vanuatu ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1995. Following the ratification, Gender Equity in Education Policy was developed in 2005 by the Ministry of Education of Vanuatu. One of the objectives was to increase the number of women principals. However, recent statistics on women in educational leadership in Vanuatu show a decline in the number of women principals. The low percentage of women in educational leadership in the secondary schools of Vanuatu indicates that gender equity in educational leadership is still far from being achieved.

This study looks at how Vanuatu culture affects women's leadership in secondary schools and identifies ways in which women's leadership might be developed. Qualitative methods were employed to study the experiences of six women leaders and five aspiring women leaders in several Vanuatu secondary schools. The findings from the study indicate three main areas inherent in Vanuatu culture that significantly impact upon the leadership practices of the participants. The findings reveal the existence of entrenched cultural barriers in the education system, in the social structures of Vanuatu and in the attitudes of individual men, women and some students towards women leaders. These barriers, it seems, are the major impediments to women's advancement in educational leadership in Vanuatu secondary schools.