The most significant role played by the federal government in advancing the state of sex equity in educational administration, as well as in most other issues involving social change, has been through legislation. This paper describes a few of the more significant federally funded initiatives related to increasing sex equity (with particular attention to those aimed at improving the status of women aspiring to or currently in educational administration); analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of these efforts; and analyzes the paradigm shifts that should occur in current thinking about the issue of underrepresentation of women in education administration. Women seeking administrative careers in education should remember that the following attributes are important: (1) education in the appropriate field; (2) meaningful experience; (3) record of improving and updating professional qualifications; (4) ongoing networking; and (5) strategic and long-range planning. The paper also offers seven recommendations for making federally funded programs and services more effective for today's women. Paradigm shifts move from the current trend of focusing on women's skills that will enable them to perform above and beyond their job descriptions and capabilities toward a focus on training administrators with the power to recruit, hire, mentor, retrain, and promote women in leadership positions. (Contains 10 references.) (LMI)