This article discusses the impact of including gender in the analytical framework in a study of the management and provision of education in Zambia from 1900 to 1939. It shows that a focus on gender allows females to enter the historical narrative and the leadership of women such as Mabel Shaw, Hannah Frances Davidson and Julia Smith can be given recognition. Furthermore, complexities associated with the politics of sexuality and gender can be seen to have had an influence on the structure of schools, teacher employment, curriculum choice, pupil expectations and parental demands. (Contains 74 footnotes.)