The further education (FE) sector employs a high proportion of women yet relatively few women progress into leadership positions. The article seeks to provide explanations for this gender imbalance and argues that despite change and modernization initiatives, the further education sector remains gendered in many aspects of leadership, governance and managerial practices. The article concludes that while change has increased opportunities for women, masculinized managerial practices have led in many instances to the re-gendering of organizational practices with unequal gender impacts. (Contains 5 tables.)