The weight and burden she carries is tremendous . In order to be taken seriously she must be successful . In her emerging research , Professor Kelly Shue ( Yale ) has been studying major retailers . Shue found that while women ’ s performance evaluations are rated higher than men , they are promoted at a much lower rate . ( Yale Insights , Yale School of Management , September 2021 )
The American Association of University Women released data that indicated this was not isolated to the marketplace but present in the non-profit sector as well . Data suggests that while women make up 75 % of jobs in non-profits , when it came to the leadership positions they hold far less . The higher the position , the least likely it is to be held by a woman . ( Broken Ladders : Barriers to Women ’ s Representation in Nonprofit Leadership )
In the church , the numbers are far bleaker . Depending on the survey source , women make up anywhere from 70-95 % of the volunteers in their local church . Women , as informal volunteers , serve in domestic capacities , teaching children , administrative work , treasury , etc . Yet , when it comes to formal employment of women in church / ministry , it ’ s less than 20 %.
Find a New Table
When a woman is struggling to find a seat at the leadership table , it is easy to quip that she should just simply find a new table . Women ’ s connectedness into their communities makes it difficult for her to take her ball and go home .
She may find it unfair that she should have to start over . Commitment to keep her word to those who depend on her , or a kinship that has developed makes the notion of leaving heartbreaking . Feeling at a deep level that she is called to be an agent of change for herself , and the women who will follow , will cause her to linger longer than she should . Why ?
Hope .
Hope that those who are seated at the table will awaken to the value she added . They will see the work of her hands and call it good and worthy . She desires to be seen as an equal , not a threat , an asset to the cause .
Stay and Pray , Go to Grow
For a season , she will fight the good fight ; drawing attention to the iniquities and injustice of it all . She stands up for the emerging women behind her , gifted in leadership . Visionaries . Strategists . Leaders . Directors . Coordinators . Executives .
She prays that things will change ; begs for people to listen and consider . This is the woman who will do the research to back her perspective , offer plans for change , and a willingness to lead the charge .
Only for so long .
Then she will begin to disassociate . In the workplace we call it “ quiet quitting ”. She simply stops . Stops going above and beyond . Stops putting in the extra hours . Stops giving more than what she is paid for .
It will eat at her soul . She is a leader , and it is
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