Conclusion

This concluding chapter demonstrates the concept of the stained-glass labyrinth by providing an overview of gendered barriers identified in each chapter and ways different types of gendered organizational processes reinforce normative gender structure both within these organizations and in broader society. It illustrates how gendered processes on the individual, interactional, organizational, and societal levels are mutually reinforcing in ways that result in unequal outcomes between men and women. In particular, this chapter illustrates how normative gender structure within CBF congregations presents barriers for women pastors in these contexts thereby reinforcing their underrepresentation in leadership positions. Finally, this chapter reiterates previous chapters by emphasizing organizational (structural) change. Instead of exclusively expecting women pastors to adopt strategies to maneuver better through organizational gendered barriers and resist sexism, this work calls on organizations to change the gender structure itself so that women no longer have to clear unequal and sizeable hurdles on their paths to pastoral positions and in their positions as pastors. For it is only through structural change that gender equality can be fully realized.

Preacher Woman

Chapter 7 presents instances in which fellow church staff members fail to see or understand fully the effects of gender structure and, therefore, often simultaneously function as allies as well as additional barriers in the pursuit of gender equality within congregations. This chapter also examines the particular standpoint of women pastors and how their experiences of exclusion and marginalization inform their social justice–oriented and riskier approaches to their jobs as compared to men pastors. While these approaches are often evaluated positively by social justice–minded congregants, some congregants described women pastors’ leadership approaches as “agenda driven” or “biased.” While this was not a key barrier in the context of this study, it may serve as a barrier in less social justice–oriented congregations. Finally, the chapter examines barriers to feminist initiatives that occur on the congregational level and emphasizes the importance of listening to the voices of women.

Women’s Path to the Pulpit

Chapter 2 presents the life histories of women pastors and reveals the gendered barriers they face from childhood to becoming a pastor within the context of Baptist life. This chapter shows how women ministers face gendered barriers on their professional paths from childhood to adolescence to college to seminary to securing a pastoral position and after. These gendered hurdles include exclusionary theology reinforced by interactions with pastors, parents, and trusted peers, as well as a lack of opportunities for professional development, engaging same-sex role models, and family support. Women’s internalization of these barriers largely contributes to inner conflicts about pursuing the pastoral ministry and ultimately results in an indirect career trajectory.

Preacher Woman

When people are committed to gender equality, what gets in their way of achieving it? Why do well-intentioned people reinforce sexist outcomes? Why does dissonance persist between organizational actors’ good intentions of equality and sexist outcomes? This book provides answers to these questions by applying the critical lens of gendered organizations to moderate-liberal congregations that separated from their mainline denomination in support of women’s equal leadership yet remain predominately male in positions of authority. This critical methodological study investigates congregations affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) with some dually aligned with The Alliance of Baptists. Although the CBF identifies the equal leadership of women as a core component of its collective identity and women are enrolling in Baptist seminaries at almost equal rates as men, only about 5% of CBF congregations employ women as solo senior pastors. This book provides an organizational analysis investigating gendered congregational processes on the individual, interactional, and organizational levels, including themes such as gendered hiring criteria, a perceived incongruence of women’s bodies and leadership, unconscious biases of organizational actors, and how women pastors’ experiences of discrimination influence their riskier approaches to leadership.

The Body

Chapter 4 illustrates how congregants’ perceptions of women’s bodies prove incongruent with their preferred conceptions of authority and leadership. It then draws on interview data to show how women pastors are simultaneously expected to conceal and accentuate their femininity, are sexualized by male congregants as they engage in leadership tasks, and face organizational expectations about their weight and appearance that are often contradictory. Moreover, this chapter demonstrates how gendered congregational perceptions related to the body create impossible and additional expectations for women pastors that are not applied in the evaluation of male pastors’ performances. Finally, this chapter highlights how women maneuver through these organizational barriers in ways that are perhaps necessary to succeed but ultimately reinforce the inequitable gender structure of these congregations.

The Third Shift

Chapter 5 presents dual expectations women pastors face in relation to their pastoral responsibilities at work as well as how they go about being a wife and mother, commonly referred to as the “second shift.” Women pastors are often expected to take on the lion’s share of household responsibilities. Therefore, congregants assume that they are pulled more between home and work than men, thus resulting in congregants doubting their ability to do it all. Finally, Chapter 5 demonstrates the traditional role of pastor’s wife and how some congregants implicitly assume that the work of pastors will be complemented by the unpaid work of their spouses. Pastors’ wives typically face more congregational expectations than pastors’ husbands, often leaving women pastors in heteronormative relationships to pick up some of the traditional pastor’s wife responsibilities in addition to their own responsibilities both at home and work; I refer to this phenomenon as the “third shift.”

Introduction

This chapter begins with a narrative of gathering at the Nevertheless, She Preached conference. It offers a more personal connection to those experiencing gendered hurdles associated with the stained-glass ceiling, introduces the research setting, and presents the research questions. It also introduces the notion of sexism without sexists and connects this phenomenon to sexist patterns within progressive religious congregations as well as broader society. The chapter presents current national statistics demonstrating women pastors’ underrepresentation in other predominantly Christian denominations as well as the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship specifically, surveys existing research on the stained-glass ceiling, and identifies the gaps in the literature. Finally, this introductory chapter provides a historical overview of the theoretical framework of gender structure. Given that this book is intended for those studying gender as well as religious professionals and churchgoers, time is allowed for dismantling gender essentialism and explaining the concepts of gender, gendered organizations, and gender structure. Additionally, the introduction provides a description of the methodology and the congregations included in the study and concludes with chapter summaries.

The Effect of Clergywomen

This chapter focuses on how gender leadership affects people’s interactions with their religious congregations. Based on political science research on representation, the chapter develops a theoretical explanation about how gender representation in religious contexts might exert changes in the religious attitudes and behaviors of those in the congregations. The results find that while people are eager to say that the gender of their particular pastor or priest does not matter, they are also quick to offer observations on the many ways in which they have observed that it does matter. These include the empowering effect it can have on young girls, the way that women clergy can often provide better pastoral counseling on gender-specific issues such as pregnancy or miscarriage, and that women pastors can attract more families and youth.

Women’s Ordination in America

This chapter provides a brief overview of both the historical and contemporary “lay of the land” of women’s ordination in American religious congregations. It shows how the extension of ordination to women has progressed throughout American history and examines recent statistics about how many congregations theoretically permit women to serve in the pulpit and how many currently have a clergywoman in the main leadership role. Drawing on the Gender and Religious Representation Survey, it also takes a brief look at stated preferences for gender and leadership in these congregations: how many people say they would prefer a man or woman as their personal religious leader? The study finds that female clergy are more common in theory than in actuality. Whereas more than half of respondents say they are supportive of women pastors, fewer than one in ten attends a congregation that is led by a woman.