Photo by George Bannister

By Debbie Gin

What kinds of ministry can women be called to? What kinds of ministry are women called to?

These were questions lurking in my mind as I analyzed data from a recent comprehensive study of women leaders in the world of theological education. Within the study, we conducted a survey of past participants in The Association of Theological Schools’ Women in Leadership program and a random sample of women faculty and administrators who have never participated in this program. Very interesting results emerged. (See the end of this blog post for links to short articles where findings from the survey are reported.)

I highlight a couple findings, as I was reminded of them when I reflected on the topic of this post: wit.

The survey had a series of statements focusing on expectations of women in leadership, and respondents were asked to mark how strongly they agreed/disagreed with each statement. The statements ranged from men taking credit for their ideas to expectations that they lead more collaboratively or in a more caring/nurturing way than male colleagues to being perceived as too emotional and to being asked to do administrative/hospitality tasks that same-rank male colleagues aren’t expected to do.

More than half (55%) said they’d been asked to do hospitality tasks that their male colleagues of the same rank would not be expected to do, and 6 out of 10 (59%) said others expect them to lead in a more caring way than the way men lead. At first glance, these findings don’t appear out of the ordinary. For most of us, memories are abundant of women ministers or lay leaders counseling couples in the pastor’s office or washing rice and braving the kitchen heat to prepare the Sunday congregational meal, week after week. To be sure, many women are called to these kinds of ministries and are exceptionally gifted for the work.

But what about the women leaders and ministers who are not called to ministries of hospitality or care as much as they are called to ministries of word and sacrament? What about the women ministers who are exceptionally gifted to preach, teach, or lead a congregation into a vision God has given? What if they are gifted with wit? How are they perceived? Is there room for them — in terms of the Church’s expectations—to lead out of their giftedness and calling?

My sister is gifted with wit, though she is not called to the ministry. Her field is literature (where we have historically seen “wit” played out), and when I raised the topic with her, she easily provided examples from her field where this double-standard expectation manifests. Think of the woman with the scarlet letter: her wit ended with people branding her a witch. Elizabeth Bennett (from Pride and Prejudice) had wit, and for that “gift”, people considered her unmarriageable. Fast forward to today, women comedians who use their wit are thought of as vulgar (and men, funny).

In many ways, I sense that for women, wit is placed at odds with being feminine. Having “mental sharpness and inventiveness; keen intelligence” is not seen as a prized virtue for women; in fact, some may say it gets in the way of being a woman. How many times have you seen women chastised for speaking plainly or naming a truth directly? For Asian women and Latinas, leading with keen intelligence or inventiveness is even more of a hurdle. In the same survey, we found that, while only a quarter of the White women and Black women agreed they were criticized for not being feminine enough when they lead “like a man”, half of the Asian women and Latinas agreed. I would go as far as to say that, because of these expectations of women’s femininity, young girls are socialized not to sharpen their wit, particularly verbal wit.

So what’s the solution? I believe this is one of those problems that must be approached collectively. It is too large a hurdle for each woman to face individually, and women who do try to challenge the system individually in this way run the risk of being branded negatively, sometimes for the rest of their career. This solution needs a culture shift and at many levels. We must pay attention to our double standards of leadership, watch our language, change our policies, scrutinize our hiring practices, find and recruit more advocates in positions of power who will challenge this status quo, and help organizations imagine a new reality where women who are called to live out of their giftedness of wit can do so without hesitation.

(To read more on the findings of the study, see: Women in Leadership Survey: What we found may not be what you think and Getting There: Seven practices to support successful women in theological education, and What About the Salary Gap in Theological Education? Also, check for “Imagining a More Equal Pulpit”: Realities from Research, which is under review for Christianity Next, a journal exploring Asian American Christianity.)

Dr. Debbie Gin is Director of Faculty Development and Research at The Association of Theological Schools/Commission on Accrediting, the support and accrediting organization of most seminaries in the US and Canada.  She was formerly Associate Professor of Ministry at Azusa Pacific Seminary and Fellow for Faculty Development and Evaluation in the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment at Azusa Pacific University.  She and her husband currently live in Pennsylvania.