‘The Shrieking Sisterhood’: women as educational policy‐makers

ABSTRACT

This article uses a feminist perspective to attempt to quantify the position of women in the process of educational policy‐making in Britain at a national and local level during this century, and to assess their role in a qualitative way. I define policymakers as those who hold the ultimate power over decision‐making. These are usually elected politicians. I do not minimise the role and influence of a range of other people and factors in the process but these are not the major concern of this article. As a feminist I try to rediscover the achievements of women who became educational policy‐makers. I will assess whether they were feminists or women who believed in separate domestically oriented roles for women.