Q: Please disguise my identity, because I know my question will tick people off. I’ve been a principal for 17 years, mostly at the high school level. I have earned stellar reviews for my work leading schools, and I’m proud of that work. In the last few years, however, I have started applying for promotions (to various positions in our district’s main office). This wasn’t about more money so much as a need for change. Being a principal involves a lot of long nights and extra duties. Carrying the emotional load for an entire community is hard, and I’m tired. I felt this way before the pandemic, but now I feel it tenfold. I don’t want to spend my time employing mandates from above, readying my building for reopening under less than ideal conditions, or spending hours supporting frustrated and exhausted teachers who don’t feel understood or heard. I’m right there with them. But I’d rather make a difference at the decision-maker level than try to convince them that their district has their back when I don’t think they do.
I have a lot to offer, and before you attack me as being privileged, I’ve worked hard for everything I’ve accomplished. I come from modest beginnings and was raised by a single mom. I paid for my own education, often working multiple jobs to make ends meet. But now, here I am, getting passed over for every promotion I seek. The district keeps hiring for diversity instead. I’m all for diversity, sure, but these people are less qualified, frankly. They’re often much younger, too, and it seems to me that the only thing they have over me is that they’re Black or Latino rather than a white guy. I feel that I’m getting discriminated against because I’m a white male. It doesn’t help that I’m in my 50s, either. What can I do to surmount this and get the job I want? I’m starting to think it’s hopeless and the deck is stacked against me.
A: It sounds like you’ve had a successful career to this point and have been getting appointed to principal positions without much difficulty for nearly 20 years. If so, this may be the first time you’ve experienced a professional setback. I’m sure that’s frustrating and confusing, but your own success is about more than your qualifications. Other groups have experienced discrimination all along.
It sounds like that’s a blind spot for you. If so, it could impede your ability to convey empathy in interviews, cloud your ability to grasp why your district is drawn to diverse candidates, and contribute to your sense of injustice. Diverse school leaders have a demonstrated impact on the communities they serve, and many districts have reworked their hiring practices to be more inclusive.
I’ll share some statistics that might help you see this in a new light. A 2017 study found that when people of color “whiten” their name on a resume, they get more job offers. Black men also make less money than their white counterparts. Black men and women make up only 4.7% of the C-suite jobs in the Fortune 100 and hold only 6.7% of the 16.2 million “management jobs.” White applicants also receive “36% more callbacks than equally qualified African Americans” while “white applicants receive on average 24% more callbacks than Latinos.” Another study found that Black men need to have more education than white men to get the same job.
The world of education is no exception. According to Hechinger Report, almost 80% of the nation’s 90,000 principals are white, 11% are Black and 9% are Latinx. Black principals are 18% less likely than equally qualified white candidates to be promoted to principal. Meanwhile, researchers have found that Black principals are often better at attracting and retaining Black teachers, recognizing giftedness in Black students, and helping them excel academically. In other words, you’re right — the world isn’t fair.
Here’s what you can do now: Solicit feedback from your interviewers. You might discover that you’re coming across as negative, entitled or bitter — perhaps it seems like you have a chip on your shoulder. Consider seeking counseling to help you feel less defeatist, to process and grow from criticism, and to stay focused on your goals. In the meantime, keep networking and sending out resumes. You can’t control for every variable, but you can control your own persistence. It’s not over until you decide to stop looking.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Phyllis L. Fagell
Phyllis L. Fagell is the school counselor at Landon School in Washington, D.C., a therapist at the Chrysalis Group in Bethesda, Md., and the author of the Career Confidential blog. She is also the author of Middle School Matters and Middle School Superpowers, available at https://amzn.to/3Pw0pcu.
