Only two of Sydney’s high-fee private boys’ schools have attained gender equity on their governing boards, prompting concerns that councils dominated by men are ill-equipped to grapple with issues of sexual consent, misogynistic social media content and preparing students for the modern workforce.

A Herald analysis of the leadership of 42 high-fee schools shows men outnumber women on the boards of most Sydney private boys’ schools, according to 2025 figures published by the government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency.

The culture of private boys’ schools has been in the spotlight amid allegations that three students from Scots College allegedly raped a girl in a Bondi Junction alleyway last month.

In a separate incident, three teens – including two boys from St Gregory’s in Campbelltown – have also been accused of raping a teenage girl this month. The school is co-ed in primary and single-sex for high school.

At Scots College, 88 per cent of the board are men, according to the 2025 figures. Its website lists one woman on its board, but it has recently appointed a second woman not publicly listed.

The Gender Equality Agency data used in this analysis pertains to the 2024-25 financial year and is reported as percentages. It is the second year the data has been published.

When the Herald last reported on the issue of school boards five years ago, King’s had only one woman on its 18-member board. It now has 15 council members, three of whom are women.

Shore had four women five years ago on its 18-member board, and now it has three. Under the school’s governing act, its council must be half clergy and half laymen.

Kate Harper, an experienced consultant focusing on board search and leadership succession initiatives, said many independent schools required their council to often include representatives from relevant stakeholder groups such as alumni and parent associations, and religious bodies.

“As not-for-profit entities, independent schools can look to the Australian Institute of Company Directors principles for not-for-profit boards which recommend an appropriate mix of people with a diverse set of skills, experience, and backgrounds that align with the organisation’s purpose, vision and strategy,” she said.

“Many Sydney independent schools have seen their enrolments diversify substantially over recent decades, with some becoming co-educational schools, and more international families enrolling.

“Current Council composition may therefore no longer be sufficient and should evolve to reflect this diversity.”

Harper said gender diversity at the top filters down to the culture of the school and the student experience.

“It is hard to see how a council dominated by one gender can effectively guide the school’s executive on preparing their students to deal with the many challenges and risks associated with social media, sexual consent, as well as preparation to join an increasingly gender-equal workforce.”

Sydney Grammar’s board of trustees is 70 per cent men, according to the gender equality agency data.

Its composition is governed by an act of parliament, stipulating six official trustees be drawn from the state attorney-general, speakers of the Legislative Assembly and Council, and senior maths and classics professors from Sydney University. It has five elected trustees, including two women now.

In practice, only two of those listed office holders are active trustees: NSW Legislative Council President Ben Franklin, and University of Sydney associate professor of maths and statistics Milena Radnovic.

At Trinity Grammar, about 80 per cent of board positions were occupied by men. The school’s constituting document stipulates that three seats are reserved for former students (who are boys), and six seats are reserved for Sydney Anglican clergymen, and another for the archbishop.

“Therefore, there are only eight seats available to be filled by women; at present, three of these eight seats are taken by women,” a school spokesperson said.

The spokeswoman said the “day-to-day leadership of the school tells a very different story”.

“On campus, women occupy a significant number of senior, student-facing, leadership roles. From heading academic curriculum, middle school pastoral care, to leading our preparatory school, our boys see, learn from, and respect female authority figures every day.”

St Aloysius and Riverview were the only two boys’ schools with an equal gender split.

Knox Grammar has a near-equal gender split. Headmaster Scott James said the school consciously sought to achieve a broad mix of skills, experience and perspectives, including gender balance.

“We believe this strengthens governance and better supports the school’s long-term interests,” he said.

Some schools have improved since the data was compiled; for instance, the St Andrew’s board is now comprised of 42 per cent women and 58 per cent men.

By comparison, six girls’ schools with an equal gender split: MLC, St Catherine’s, Meriden, SCEGGS, Loreto Kirribilli and Stella Maris College.

Several others, including Tara and Santa Sabina, have boards dominated by men. Ravenswood’s council is 60 per cent men.

Ravenswood principal Sue Floro said membership may fluctuate due to tenure and appointment timing.

“We do aspire to achieve gender equity on our school council, and this remains our focus as members reach the end of their nine-year maximum tenure on the council, and we seek to recruit council members with complementary skill sets,” she said.

Stephen Codrington, an experienced former school principal and consultant to school boards in Australia and overseas, said a high-functioning board required a diversity of perspectives.

“I think gender is part of that, but I also think age and culture are an important part of that as well. I think if you only look at gender, I think you’re oversimplifying,” he said.

He noted some schools had worked to include younger adults who were more in touch with the reality of young people they were teaching, but said it was vital that leaders were intentional about the school culture they were creating.

“You don’t just allow it to develop and evolve … A good school will try to direct the culture of the school, and that actually is a joint operation of both the head and the board … and frankly … every other teacher and adult in the school – they’re all part of setting the culture.”

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