Book excerpt: Gender, Identity and Educational Leadership explores how head teachers' social identities – particularly pertaining to gender, social class and ethnicity – influence their leadership of diverse populations of pupils and staff. Informed by new research conducted throughout the first decade of the 21st century and advances in gender theories, the book draws attention to how head teachers' views of their diverse school populations influence school leadership. Connections are made between head teachers' social identities; their personal and professional histories; and their perceptions of diversity amongst the children, young people, staff and the wider communities they serve.