Women & Leadership: The State of Play and Strategies for Change

By Kellerman, Barbara and Deborah L. Rhode, editors
Jossey-Bass, 2007
ISBN 9780787988333
$39.95… $27.97… 30% off until Feb. 1

The statistics are sobering. After all the gains by women in the U.S. over the last three decades and a highly-publicized, serious bid for the White House, this work edited by Barbara Kellerman and Deborah Rhode documents that women’s leadership opportunities are still far from equal. Women account for less than one fifth of law firm partners, federal judges, college presidents, and congressional representatives; two percent of Fortune 500 CEOs and only eight percent of corporate leadership positions. Women make up one half of the students in seminaries and divinity schools, but only three percent of pastors of large-membership Protestant congregations.

The writers in this new collection document the facts and explore underlying causes and dynamics in ways that will be very helpful to church leaders and policy-makers. Myths and stereotypes are explored, including those which continue to crop up in public conversation and popular magazines. One, which has made a recent comeback, is that women are under-represented at these high levels of leadership due to their own choices and decisions. Women opt out, the myth goes, choosing instead the fulfillment that comes from family responsibilities. While this argument contains a partial truth, it masks the fact that the overwhelming majority of women do seek to return to the workforce after a season of child-rearing or elder care, yet find limited opportunities, lower pay and diminished opportunity. One article also explores the societal framework of limited resources for childcare and eldercare which greatly limit women’s options and decisions, a reality which often leaves women feeling that no matter what they are doing, they should be doing something else.

Another article explores the “great man” model of leadership that associates leadership qualities with traits considered to be masculine: dominance, authority, assertiveness, etc. A double-bind is produced in which women leaders risk being respected but not liked, or liked but not respected. This Catch-22 in which women are perceived as either nurturing and not tough enough or too aggressive and unwomanly is identified and examined.

Another entry examines the assumption that gender differences in leadership styles and effectiveness are widespread and readily recognized, namely that women tend towards styles that are more participatory, interpersonal, empathetic, and supportive. Research, however, reveals no such gender differences, finding that overall, women outperform men in all but a few measures. Even the assumption that women leaders are more likely to address issues affecting women is challenged, noting that party affiliation is more likely to influence such prioritization than gender per se.

These studies by social scientists will be of interest to bishops and superintendents, PPRC/SPRCs, clergywomen, seminary faculty, and clergy mentors. They should be of interest to anyone seeking to open doors to new leadership within our denomination as well as in the larger society. Strategies for change are explored that very helpfully point away from personal self-improvement techniques to structural and institutional dynamics. Nannerl Keohane of Princeton University, former President of Wellesley College, makes a very helpful distinction between styles of leadership and functions of leadership. The things that leaders must do include making hard decisions, competing effectively for resources, standing up for what must be done for the institution—all with focus and good judgment.

As a denomination committed to making disciples of Christ for the transformation of the world, these studies point to myriad opportunities to change the world for the better as women participate in public life and leadership. Women are increasingly ready and eager for leadership. The benefits to the women themselves and the institutions they lead are made plain in the resources of this important volume.