NEW DELHI: Despite achieving near-universal enrolment in primary education, India faces persistent challenges in ensuring learning outcomes and strengthening school leadership, says Unesco’s Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report 2024-25 released on Wednesday, reports . And the problem is not limited to the country. Global study: Few women leaders in edu serious concern New Delhi: “Most teachers are women, but few lead” is the central message of “Leadership in Education: Lead For Learning” section of Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report 2024-25, released on Wednesday by Unesco. The report highlights what is a problem across countries: under-representation of women in leadership positions at all levels of the education system – from schools to education ministries, reports Manash Gohain.Globally, women make up 57% of secondary school teachers, but in most countries the proportion of female principals lags the share of female teachers by at least 20 percentage points. This disparity exists despite growing evidence that gender-diverse leadership correlates with better learning outcomes and more enabling school environment. Similar is the story at the higher education level. While women comprise 45% of higher education faculty, they account for only 30% of leadership roles in universities and colleges.India is no exception to this phenomenon. While women dominate the teaching workforce in primary schools – accounting for over 60% of elementary teachers – their number declines sharply in leadership positions, particularly at the secondary and tertiary levels.The report also examines political leadership in the education sector. Between 2010 and 2023, only 27% of education ministers worldwide were women.
