Less than one in ten Christian charities are led by women chief executives, and only around one in six have women as chairs. Why does this gender gap exist in a sector where around two-thirds of the workforce are women?
That’s the query addressed by Carnelian, a specialist executive search service that works with many Christians organisations, helping them find key members of staff. They have just published their findings.
Researchers interviewed 23 senior women in Christian organisations, asking them about their individual experiences. They were asked to “reflect on their journeys to leadership, the challenges they might or may not have faced, the unique opportunities given to them, and whether or not they viewed leadership through a gendered lens.”
Themes identified within the research included: the importance of intentionality in identifying and developing female leaders; that men could play an important role in encouraging Christian women’s careers; the complexities faced by moms in leadership roles; the importance of flexibility within the workplace; and the role played by ‘subtle discrimination.’
There may also be examples where “theological views within the Christian sector” have resulted in fewer opportunities for girls to carry positions of leadership. Comments received from women interviewed for the research included: “There’s a theological thread in Christian mission meaning men don’t quite fully accept you as a full leader” and “I hadn’t appreciated that some within the Christian world didn’t want women in leadership overall, not only within the church.”
Coming out of the newly-published research, the report ‘Female Leaders within the UK Christian Charity Sector’Â makes 4 key recommendations, that are geared toward giving greater opportunity to women in leadership.
The recommendations are:
Start a Conversation
The report authors state: “Not all women will view their profession through the lens of their sex, but senior leaders and teams must be attentive to the incontrovertible fact that many will.” The report encourages organisations to have “open conversations” concerning the topic on boards and senior leadership teams.
Invest in training
Senior leaders, say Carnelian, “must be intentional in training and upskilling each men and women on boards and executive teams, particularly in constructing confidence.” This could include mentoring schemes with a concentrate on developing young women within the workforce.
Establish good policies and practices
Identify what the barriers to leadership could be for girls, whether parenting or working multiple jobs, and implement positive policies to handle these. The report says that an organisation’s systems “don’t must be totally redesigned for girls, but must be critically examined with women in mind.” The report also calls for an organisation’s ‘cultural practices’ to be examined.
Have good recruitment practices in place
Ensure that an organisation’s recruitment practices attract higher number of wonderful applicants and a more diverse number of candidates.
The paper concludes “One of the best skills of a pacesetter is to nurture those that have potential, raising them as much as succeed and surpass you. Organisations which think deeply concerning the development of their talent, female and male, are those which can be best-positioned to grow, adapt and succeed.”
Rev Peter Crumpler is a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts, UK and a former communications director with the CofE.
