Women have entered the New York State public school district superintendency in increasing numbers over the past two decades. Traditionally a male dominated field, these women have successfully addressed various personal, career and district factors to obtain these positions. In this study, 121 actively employed women superintendents were surveyed regarding factors that may be contributing to their job satisfaction. Thirty independent variables related to access were analyzed relative to job satisfaction factors as the dependent variables. Job satisfaction was measured through overall experience, the likelihood that one would rechoose the superintendency as a career goal, and overall satisfaction with specific responsibilities of the position. The average woman in this study was 54.53 years old, white and married with children. She had a certificate of advanced study, and 13.1 years teaching experience prior to at least two prior administrative positions, most commonly assistant/deputy superintendent or elementary principal. She was mentored prior to the superintendency, mostly by male colleagues. She was 48 years old upon obtaining her first superintendency and led a rural or suburban district with average economic needs. She worked for a board of education with an average of 6.7 years experience with male board members who were more numerous and better educated on average than their female counterparts. She earned an average of $137,431 and had sought the position for greater challenge and had been hired through a search conducted by the local BOCES superintendent. She is generally satisfied with her experience and specific aspects of her work. Of thirty access factors identified in the literature, twelve were found to be correlated to one or more of the job satisfaction measures: age, having children, salary, longevity in the position, being mentored prior to the superintendency, residency expectations, commute time prior incidents and frequency of gender discrimination and the level of education of women board of education members. Of these, six significantly predicted women's job satisfaction by one or more of the measures. Age, longevity in the position, prior mentoring and professional organizations' help predicted higher job satisfaction. Prior incidents of gender discrimination and frequency of current gender discrimination predicted reductions in job satisfaction measures. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]