Chris McGovern is the Chairman of the Campaign for Real Education. The Conservative Woman website early today published this excellent piece.
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Justice for Men & Boys 
Of course
“there is the inevitable but unreported consequence that too many ‘second-rate’ applicants have been, and are being, appointed to ‘plug’ the vacancy gaps…”
That’s the purpose.
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‘Sir Michael Wilshaw, the outgoing chief inspector, was right to suggest as much when he addressed a Sutton Trust conference in 2016:
“We need head teachers in our secondary schools that are going to be really transformative
leaders, and we have not got enough of them. We need battlers, we need bruisers, we need battle-axes who are going to fight the good fight and are absolutely determined to get high standards. We have got too many appeasers in our secondary schools who are prepared to put up with mediocrity.“‘
I’ll concede that interpretation is subjective but Sir Michael seems to be saying, in code and in effect, that women just can’t hack it in responsible positions and have made a mess of things. That is how I interpret ‘We need [people] who are going to fight the good fight and are absolutely determined to get high standards. We have got too many appeasers in our secondary schools who are prepared to put up with mediocrity.’
We have heard, ad tedium ad nauseam, for decades about women’s superior ‘interpersonal skills’ and conflict resolution abilities but all I’ve ever seen is women resolving conflicts by surrendering to their opponents (Partly why they are so poor at negotiating higher earnings compared to male colleagues?). Women who actually have the fortitude to stand their ground, even when universally unpopular, are rare (Mrs Thatcher is the classic example – I’m not an admirer but give her credit for that). Generally, in my experience, women like to be liked and are afraid of upsetting others. Clearly, running a successful school successfully requires attributes that few women have. Better no headmaster at all than a headmistress who is incapable or incompetent.
As an afterthought: the situation in education is yet further proof that when an industry, activity or economic role is feminised it becomes unattractive to capable men and inevitably suffers a decline in standards and effectiveness. Elephant in the room? No, I see no elephant.
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