Rise in teaching career and gender differences

ABSTRACT This article analyzes differences between women and men in the occupation of the teaching career, an area considered feminine but which career demonstrates gender differences. Notions such as the sexual division of labor of Helena Hirata and Danièle Kergoat (2007) and the existence of the glass escalator of Christine Williams (1992, 2013, 2015) in feminized careers lead to the question of what differentiations are present in the education area. Based on quantitative data and interviews with female and male principals, we analyze gender differences in the rise of the teaching career. The research results reveal the presence of advantages for men in their career, regarding the first experience in school management - younger age and shorter time of classroom management -, related to the types of incentives received and the form of provision of the first post in school management. The provision by public contest enables apparent equality between women and men concerning the age of entry into specialist positions, although it does not guarantee equality in the distribution of women and men among the various positions. Men are more present in positions related more specifically on the administrative side of management - vice direction, direction, and supervision - than those devoted more directly to the pedagogical side - pedagogical guidance and coordination -, which evidences a relationship between gender and choice in the rise in the teaching career.