This publication explores the link between the gender of the school principal and the performance of pupils at the end of primary school in reading and mathematics in fourteen French-speaking African countries, based on PASEC2019 data. This study was produced as part of the Women in Learning Leadership (WiLL) program of the Gender at the Center (GCI) initiative of IIEP-UNESCO. Through an approach that combines the co-creation of evidence and the development of national capacities, hand-in-hand with ministries of education and partners, WiLL seeks to promote the adoption of best practices in school leadership while fostering equitable gender representation in school leadership positions in low- and middle-income countries.