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It examines gendered discourses that shape how she leads, including perceived expectations to lead with “strength” or, later, with compassion and empathy. Barriers and shifting beliefs reveal how gender influences daily leadership work, and the accompanying teaching notes encourage current and aspiring leaders to treat gender as a key factor in practice.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/boy-i-wish-i-were-a-man-navigating-principalship-as-a-woman/596807/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/boy-i-wish-i-were-a-man-navigating-principalship-as-a-woman/596807.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Danger Angel","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-31","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":29},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Who is the subject of the case study, and what role does she hold?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The case study centers on Maggie, who is a principal at an urban elementary school. 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Maggie recognizes gender as a factor and makes distinctions between male and female ways of leading. She reveals some of the barriers she faces as a female principal and refers to discourses of strength, for example, which act upon her leadership. This case study, and the teaching notes that follow, encourage both practising and prospective leaders to consider gender as a factor which impacts the daily work of elementary school principals.  \nKeywords: gender, leadership, principalship, elementary schools  \nCase Narrative  \nMaggie has been the principal at Maple Creek P.S. for the past three years. This is her first principalship. Prior to this, Maggie worked as a vice principal for 12 years during which she worked with both male and [female principals. Maple Creek P.S. is](female principals. Maple Creek P.S. is) located in an urban environment in the Greater Toronto Area and serves approximately 500 students from kindergarten to Grade 8. The population of the school is diverse both culturally and socio-economically with 72% of its students speaking another language, other than English, at home. Maggie is the second female principal to lead the school; the last two principals, over the past 10 years, were male. Since she has been at the school, she has worked alongside a female vice principal. Maggie has worked as a school administrator since the early 2000s. Over this period of time, she has navigated school leadership and reflects on her experiences of leading as a woman.  \nMaggie was first promoted to the role of vice principal in the early 2000s, a time when women were just beginning to take on leadership roles in schools. At the time, Maggie felt that it was expected that she take on a very hard line as a leader, as her male colleagues had been doing. She felt pressure to lead like a man, with strength and determination. She described her female principal as very strict and explained that her principal “had to overcompensate for being female by being incredibly strong.” Maggie felt that her principal had to find a way to “fit” into the principal role rather than embrace it. She presented the principalship as a role designed for men, and, therefore, not a natural fit for women. Maggie made a clear distinction between the manner in which men and women lead their schools. Male principals were defined by using discourses of strength, and women were expected to engage in that same strength, forced to compensate for being female. If we view principalship in this way, we see how it might be perceived as easier to manage for men than women, thus impacting work intensification for women in the role.  \nOver time, Maggie’s feelings about the expectations placed on female principals changed. Now that she is a principal, she believes that being a woman actually works to her benefit. Maggie now says that, asa woman, she is expected to lead with compassion and empathy by parents and staff. At one point she says,  \n“So, if something goes wrong, I always feel like people feel they could empathize or use my compassion because I am a woman, to understand this situation they find themselves in.” Maggie clearly defines a perceived “feminine” way of leading, which she uses to her advantage. She defines this manner of leading using the words “compassionate” and “being empathetic,” revealing yet another discourse of leadership. We see a transition here for Maggie from a time when she felt she needed to lead with “strength” like aman, to the present where she now leads with compassion and empathy as a woman. Maggie’s differing approaches to leadership over time indicates the presence of a struggle to find a way to successfully lead her school as a","cbCaiiO0awG5RljS","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiiO0awG5RljS","pdf",373128,"English","# Abstract\n# Case Narrative\n## Maggie’s First Hurdle","[{\"question\":\"Who is the subject of the case study, and what role does she hold?\",\"answer\":\"The case study centers on Maggie, who is a principal at an urban elementary school. It describes her experiences navigating principalship as a woman.\"},{\"question\":\"What gendered expectations does Maggie describe during her early leadership?\",\"answer\":\"Maggie explains that early on she felt pressure to lead “like a man,” with strength and determination. She also describes perceptions that she had to overcompensate to fit the role.\"},{\"question\":\"How does Maggie’s leadership approach change over time?\",\"answer\":\"Maggie reports that as time passed, she came to see her womanhood as an advantage. She describes leading through compassion and empathy and contrasts this with earlier expectations of strength.\"}]","Boy, I wish I were a man! - Navigating Principalship as a Woman | PDF",1792083768]