Ready but Waiting: The Role of Gender, Race, and Experience in Principal Applications

Prior studies report racial and gender gaps in the rates at which assistant principals (APs) ascend to the principalship, but data limitations raise uncertainty about the origins of these patterns. Using an administrative data set from a southeastern U.S. urban school district (2014–2022), we examine whether female and non-White APs apply for the principalship at the same points in their careers as their male and White counterparts, respectively. Only 36.8% of all APs submit an application for the principalship, and only 24.1% of APs of color apply, meaning non-White APs are less likely than White APs to ever apply for a principalship. Despite equivalent application rates, women APs tend to have more experience before they submit their first application than do male APs.