The presence of women in school management: gender and power dynamics*

Abstract In basic education, school management is mostly female, but there are few studies that problematize the gender dynamics that permeate this position. Therefore, this article seeks to analyze gender and power dynamics in school management in the state education network of Santa Catarina. The survey data was collected from the State Department of Education and by sending a Google Forms questionnaire to principals from the state’s 36 Regional Education Coordinating Offices, from which 73 principals responded. The data was categorized and analyzed from the perspective of hermeneutic interpretation. For this study, two categories were analyzed: i) the representativeness of women in management; ii) the challenges of being in school management as a woman. The results show that management in basic education, more than a place of power, is part of the teaching profession, which is expressively female. However, due to the fact that women are in a position of leadership, we identify the presence of gender and power dynamics that reproduce social inequalities between women and men. In other words, they are still absent from the highest decision-making bodies in the education system and when they are in school management, they face the challenge of violent communication and the lack of a fair distribution of domestic tasks in their homes.