What do Shark Attacks Have to do with Superintendents?

Since the inception of Aequitas Educational Consulting, friends and co-workers have asked a million questions, which we love. Commonly, they ask why this work is important. We’ve got lots of answers for that! Sometimes, we hear arguments against the work; individuals contest that it isn’t needed or it isn’t really what schools should be doing right now. These discussions can be tough to have—but they are essential. My weekly blog series will address some of these criticisms. Such conversations are critical and we can’t shame people for asking, but we can approach their questions with more than feelings. We need research and real answers. So here is one way to engage those with questions in a way that builds bridges, instead of setting them on fire…

Argument #1: I know a lot of women in leadership at my school or company, so I do not believe that a lack of women in leadership is a real problem in other places.

First of all, it is fantastic that there are many women in leadership in your school or company. I’m thrilled to hear it! But please recognize, you are in the minority of people who have this experience (check out more about women and men named John elsewhere on our blog). It is possible that just reading that statement got your hackles up. So, let’s talk about the availability heuristic.

The availability heuristic, an idea studied by two of our AEC favorites, behavioral economists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky (1974), is a decision-making shortcut that we use to predict how frequently something happens. All humans rely on memorable experiences that we have had. The availability heuristic often works quickly and well, but it can lead us to misjudge how often things happen, that is, their frequency. When a shark attacks a swimmer, newspapers and television spread the alarm.  As it happens, one is more likely to be hit by an object dropping from an airplane, something one hears about rarely (Gilovich, 1991), than to be attacked by a shark. Because we can easily recall either experiencing an event or hearing about it, we assume it happens a lot more than it actually does. This is why we overestimate our likelihood of being attacked by a shark—the stories are sensational and we remember them easily, which makes us more likely to think shark attacks will happen to us when, in truth, it is extremely unlikely. I promise. 

So how do we combat this problem? This is one of those magical moments where data are really going to be our best friend.  Your likelihood of being attacked by a shark is somewhere close to 1 in 11.5 million. Not very likely, huh? 

Female superintendents are about 15% of the population of superintendents and women make up about 30% of secondary principals. Are women 30% of your secondary professional staff? You can probably think of some female superintendents and principals. And again, we are so happy that’s the case.  However, while it is easy for you to think of female school leaders, the percentage of female superintendents and principals does not change. The paucity of women in leadership is a well-documented, real problem in schools. Now, let’s get to work. 

- Amy

• Tversky, A. & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science, New Series, 185 (4157), p. 1124-1131.
• Gilovich, T. (1991).  How we know what isn’t so: The fallibility of reason in everyday life. New York, NY: Free Press.