Strengthening school leadership offers a promising avenue for improving poor education outcomes. The Women in Learning Leadership research initiative aims to understand the status and role of female school leaders. It documents the various factors undermining gender equity in leadership positions and how education systems can evolve to ensure similar opportunities for men and women. This report presents analyses of the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) data from 2019 to understand the composition of school leadership in the region and how it influences student outcomes, including investigating differences by gender. Specifically, the report presents findings from six countries in the region: Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Viet Nam. The results highlight the diversity in women’s school leadership in the region, with women being underrepresented in half the participating countries. In terms of learning outcomes, children in women-led schools either perform as well as or better than children in men-led schools. Finally, the report highlights the promising practices of school leaders that may positively influence learning outcomes.
