Equity in teacher education: Addressing diversity from ITT to leadership

SUSI WATERS, NORFOLK RESEARCH SCHOOL, NORWICH, UK Teaching is a uniquely rewarding profession, bringing with it the chance to change students’ lives and influence their futures. However, the diversity of the teaching workforce doesn’t reflect that of the student body in most schools. For example, men are twice as likely to take on leadership positions as women, even though women comprise most of the teaching workforce (McShane and Sheppard, 2024). Gaps also remain in representation among racial and ethnic minorities (Kotonya et al., 2025), disabled individuals and LGBTQ+ professionals (Ozolins et al., 2021). The reasons for these gaps are both societal and systemic. However, certain traditional expectations of the profession and those within it exacerbate these gaps, particularly at key points in the career of a typical teacher. Therefore, we need to implement thoughtful and purposeful recruitment, retention and career development strategies to address these disparities. Thi