Recent data indicate that women are underutilized and underrepresented in leadership roles in physical education at the higher education level, that the degree of underutilization and underrepresentation increases with the degree of power associated with the role in question, and that this situation is typical also of higher education in general and of other professional fields as well. This essay examines the concept of leadership current in leadership literature and analyzes several factors that affect both the attainment by women of leadership positions (particularly in physical education) and their behavior relative to the advancement of women once in those positions. Noting that the effects of sex discrimination on women may lead them to undervalue themselves as a group and even to undermine the careers of other women, the author suggests structuring professional opportunities in order to train women as leaders rather than continuing to socialize women into a system that perpetuates their underutilization. (Author/PGD)