Struggles for Women in Leadership
On my way out of South Africa I was able to get a copy of the local newspaper, Cape Argus. Reading through the newspaper, I stumbled upon an article titled “The Quiet Power of Women in Education.”[1] The author, Dr. Beverly Evangelides writes “I’ve learned that true leadership is not about position, it’s about purpose. It’s about using your voice, your influence, and your courage to challenge bias, dismantle outdated thinking and build inclusive spaces where women and girls are seen, heard and valued.”[2] She continues in the article, “Women dominate the education sector numerically, but not always in influence. We need more women who are willing to challenge narrative – not by shouting, but by showing. Leading with integrity. Nurturing with intention. Speaking up even when our opinions differ.”[3]
I lead with these quotes to remind myself and others how much of a struggle it is for women worldwide to gain respect as a leader and to see leadership as a feminine role as much as it is a masculine role. Anna Morgan in her book Growing Women in Ministry discusses how women encounter throughout their lives the idea that leadership and authority are a masculine trait/role.[4] This is not an easy thing for some women and men to move beyond.
Leadership Labyrinth
While both the secular and sacred worlds have made progress on women in leadership, there is still a long way to go. Morgan mentions some of the obstacles women in ministry must overcome in their leadership journey, ‘theological and cultural resistance, gender bias, a pay gap, and sexual harassment and abuse.’[5] This reminds me of the Leadership Labyrinth that Northouse discussed that focuses on issues women in leadership tend to navigate; these issues fall into three main categories, human capital, gender differences, and prejudice.[6]
One of the human capital issues within the leadership labyrinth is “work-home conflict.”[7] Women struggle when they take leave, often finding themselves marginalized or returning at a lower level of leadership when they return. Morgan says that mothers who take ministry leadership roles often struggle with mom guilt.[8] In her study Morgan found “flexibility in office hours and work locations to be essential to flourishing in leadership,” and discussed some church policies that women in her study reported as being beneficial to their developing a healthy home. [9] Some of these ideas included flexibility of working from home or allowing the children to come to work, providing childcare, allowing the woman to take summers off while kids are off school, and holding positions open when a woman took a leave of absence. Whether it is a mother or a father, the church really needs to step up and do what it can to ensure that their leadership has the support from the congregation that is necessary to develop a healthy family and prevent mom or dad guilt.
Homework
It is also the role of the husband to step up and demonstrate his egalitarian theology in the home. I burst out laughing when I read that having a husband creates on average seven more hours per week of housework.[10] I may have to ask Morgan when we have her on our Zoom meeting if this is true of her husband as well.
In our culture there are so many stereotypes of what a man and woman’s role is in the home, cooking, cleaning, maintenance, raising kids, etc. Personally, I have never babysat my kids when my wife is away. It’s not babysitting, its being dad. How do we get people to move beyond the stereotypes and see homework as gender neutral.
Bias within Egalitarian Churches
I know that there are congregations that are complementarian and have various policies on the roles a woman can serve in within the church. Brett Fuller discussed this in defense of his view of being a Complementary-Egalitarian.[11] My own views on this have evolved over the years, but I am not debating which view of women in church leadership is correct. My concern is the bias that women in egalitarian churches still receives. A former campus pastor once lamented about how often she would go to a pastor-spouse function within her denomination and people automatically assumed her husband was the pastor. The church I attend is in a small village of around 400 residents with two other churches.[12] Each Easter morning, the three churches gather together in the East Cemetery to conduct a sunrise service. This past year I looked at the order of service and noted that one of the male pastors from the other churches was set to give the short devotional. However, in the end, it was our pastor, Jocelyn, who delivered the message. After the service I asked her about the discrepancy. She replied that initially the pastor of the Mennonite church (egalitarian) would not allow her to speak, more so out of fear of what the rest of his congregation would think. However, leading up to the service, he called Pastor Jos, and told her that he had been convicted by God, that if the churches in the village were to do things together, then his church must recognize her full role as a pastor. Morgan mentioned a couple different surveys that researched the percent of women in leadership in the church. The highest percent of senior clergy as women was 43.8% represented by the Episcopal church.[13] This is still under the fifty percent needed to fully represent women.
Concluding Challenge
I know that not all women are called into senior pastoral ministry. But for those of us who attend a female led church or interact with women who lead a church we need to prayerfully consider what we can do to support them in their role. How can we as leaders, as Evangelides said, use our voice, influence, and “courage to challenge bias, dismantle outdated thinking and build inclusive spaces where women and girls are seen, heard and valued?”[14]
Another challenge, how can I do a better job so that my wife doesn’t have that extra hour of work each day?
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[1] Beverly Evangelides, “The Quiet Power of Women in Education,” Cape Argus, October 1, 2025, 6.
[2] Evangelides, 6.
[3] Evagelides, 6.
[4] Anna R. Morgan, Growing Women in Ministry: Seven Aspects of Leadership Development, (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2024), 57.
[5] Morgan, 99-100.
[6] Peter. G. Northouse, Leadership: Theory & Practice 9th Edition, (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2022), 395-396.
[7] Northouse, 397.
[8] Morgan, 92.
[9] Morgan, 94.
[10] Morgan 94.
[11] Brett Fuller, High Ceilings: Women in Leadership. (Brett Fuller, 2021).
[12] World Population Review, “Fredericksburg,” accessed on October 9, 2025, https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/ohio/fredericksburg.
[13] Morgan, 188.
[14] Evangelides, 6.
About the Author
Jeff Styer
Jeff Styer lives in Northeast Ohio's Amish Country. He has degrees in Social Work and Psychology and currently works as a professor of social work at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Jeff is married to his wife, Veronica, 25+ years. Together they have 4 beautiful children (to be honest, Jeff has 4 kids, Veronica says she is raising 5). Jeff loves the outdoors, including biking, hiking, camping, birding, and recently picked up disc golf.7 responses to “Struggles for Women in Leadership”
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Hi Jeff, Thank you for your thoughtful post. I have to confess, I probably make more work for David than he does for me. We are very blessed and share a lot. I am not fully familiar with the Nazarene traditions. Are there limitations on the roles of the female faculty? Or if there are not explicit limits, are women represented in leadership roles within the University setting?
Diane,
Nazarene are egalitarian, Julie is a Nazarene pastor. At the university we have several women in high leadership roles. Our current VP was the former president at a Nazarene University. Many of the heads of departments are female and our university is broken into two colleges, our traditional in seat students and our online programs, both are chaired by women.
Dr. Styer,
I really enjoyed your post and the heart you expressed for seeing women empowered—and for doing your part so your wife doesn’t end up with more work at home! I especially appreciated your concluding challenge.
Thank you for mentioning Brett Fuller—I referenced him as well. From your local church context, what does it look like to intentionally affirm women in leadership? I’ve been thinking that, in general, the Church doesn’t do a great job of affirming or mentoring anyone in leadership. Too often, people are placed in roles without much encouragement, feedback, or investment along the way. Mentorship and affirmation could make such a difference in helping leaders—both women and men—grow with confidence and purpose. I’d love to hear how you’ve seen that happen in your setting.
Elyse,
You ask a great question. I know our denomination has some great female pastors. They speak at our regional and national meetings. But I don’t know what they do to affirm and mentor them. I’m going to ask the question of my pastor and will let you know.
Hi Jeff,
Thank you for your post, very encouraging.
In what ways might you guide your sons to recognize, affirm, and support the leadership of women in pastoral ministry?
Shela,
I know my youngest son loves our Pastor and has seen me support her as well. My oldest being in the Marines hasn’t experienced Jos much but when he comes home on leave he often has breakfast with a former female assistant pastor. So I’m not sure I need to do anything, it’s more likely that they have already seen me respect, love and affirm the female pastors we’ve had.
Jeff, I love this post, thank you. I think you bring up a couple of good points. First, how can we congregants support women pastors? Second, how can men not make more work for their wives at home?
To the first, I wonder how we can support pastors in any human guise? As I work on my doctoral project, I have pastors tell me all the time that they wish their congregations knew better how to support them.
To the second, I’m probably like Diane and make more work for my husband! At least on some things. We work it out. 🙂