How to Empower the Women in Your Church
*Post by Sharon Hodde Miller*
As some of you might know, I am currently a student pursing a PhD in educational studies. I have a great passion for women in our churches and I hope my research will one day serve them, so I love to share what I’m learning from time to time. Especially when I think it can help church leaders.
In recent months I have studied a phenomenon called stereotype threat. This term refers to the pressure individuals feel in the classroom or workplace due to perceived stereotypes about themselves. For instance, women are sometimes stereotyped as being less capable at math, which can influence the way young girls perform in their math classes. If they believe they are worse at math, they are likely to perform worse regardless of natural ability.
Numerous studies have shown that the simple presence of a stereotype can inhibit academic performance, but it creates an additional obstacle. If a student or employee anticipates being stereotyped, some will actively try to undermine the stereotype. For example, a businesswoman may fear being perceived as overly emotional by her male colleagues, so she intentionally minimizes her emotions and conducts herself stoically. Unfortunately, the cognitive energy she puts into combating the stereotype also inhibits her performance. Likewise, students who find themselves resisting a stereotype in a classroom setting are less able to learn and engage the subject matter.
It is remarkable and troubling that a stereotype can be so powerful. Fortunately, researchers have also looked into the best methods for breaking the power of stereotype threat, and they have discovered two primary options:
1. An authority figure publicly debunks the stereotype. In a study at Stanford University, a group of men and women were administered a math test and their performances were recorded (Spencer and Steele, 1999). Then, the same math test was administered to a different group of men and women, but with one small change. This time, before the students began, the test administrator told the group that there was no previous gender discrepancy in performance on this test. This simple statement debunking the stereotype about women and math made all the difference. The women in the second group tested better.
2. In-group role models. It is also helpful for victims of stereotype threat to see individuals from their own group (ie. women or minorities) functioning competently outside the stereotype (McIntyre, Paulson, Taylor, Morin and Lord, 2011). Having a talented female math teacher, for instance, can help dispel the myth that women are not good at math.
This research is fascinating, and it has led me to wonder about its application to women in the church. There are many stereotypes out there about women that are both sociological and psychological, so the cycle can be tough to break. If women believe they are not capable of thinking theologically, or leading and teaching in the church effectively, then that stereotype perpetuates an unfortunate cycle in which women are hesitant to even try.
That said, there are two applications that evangelicals can take from the above research. The first applies to men. In the same way that authority figures have the power to break stereotypes with a simple word, men in the evangelical church have that power as well. That is not to say that women should not also speak out against unbiblical stereotypes, but research seems to indicate that the power group–the group that is stereotyped as being naturally gifted or authoritative in a certain area–has particular influence in this regard. If men were to tell their wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters that women can think theologically, that women should be important voices in the church, and that the church needs the contributions of these women, that message would have a tremendous, positive impact.
I should add that this influence is evident in my own life. I have a strong and brilliant dad who has always been unconditionally supportive. Although both my parents believe in me (sometimes more than they should!) my dad would seriously fight anyone who tried to stand in my way. I am no doubt the woman I am today because my dad wanted a strong daughter.
In short, men, we need you! Challenge your wives and raise strong daughters!
The second application from the above research concerns us ladies. If we want to see younger generations of women pushing themselves and using their gifts for the Kingdom of God, then we need to be doing that ourselves. Change can be slow and discouraging at times, but the more women who are out there studying, growing and leading, the more we can expect younger women to follow our example. Change begins with us.
Hi Sharon, this is my first time on your site. Thank you for such an educated well thought out vision for Christian women! I love your ending where you said that we need men… we can truly bring glory to God if we work together and empower each other to fulfill our roles! -Blessings, Amy
@alyce I encourage you to pray and then act.
I love this post. I think your idea that people in power (usually men) need to stand up first is dead-on and also biblical. In Galatians, it's Paul who challenges Peter about the Gentiles, not a Gentile leader, a metaphor I've often used when talking about women in the church. I just wrote about the cultural analysis of churches at my blog, how we praise and blame women for certain behaviors, which reinforces our cultural values more than our doctrinal beliefs, and I wish I'd read this post first. While I wrote about women, this is NOT a women's issue, it's an everyone issue, and I'm so grateful to have a father and husband who are in the trenches as much or more than most women I know. I'm a PhD candidate in English and I'm really excited to have just discovered your blog!
There are two main women in my life that I love to empower, my wife and our daughter. I'll just stick with our daughter for now, but here's how I look at empowering her and I think it has a broader application to women in general.
I’d like to think that my daughter is irrepressible, that as she desires to follow God and use the talents he’s given her she will not be swayed by society’s mores and judgments. But I know that the hopes and plans of even the strongest people, women and men alike, can be crushed by the words and actions of others. And I know that my strong, smart daughter is no exception just as I am no exception.
(pt 1)
(pt 2, since it was tto big for a single comment according to the website!)
She needs to be empowered, of course. We all do. The ultimate source of true power is the Holy Spirit, and I pray that he is carrying my daughter along in the way of Jesus Christ according to the will of the Father. God also chooses to use regular people, even a father like me, to strengthen and build up those around us. So I not only pray for my daughter, but try to encourage her and support her with what she needs – emotionally, physically, whatever .
(pt 3)
This wonderful young woman (I practically gag at being forced to face the fact that my wonderful girl is now a wonderful woman) has plans, plans that she hopes to honor God with. She is pre-med and wants to become an Ob-Gyn. When I asked her if she wanted clinical work or a surgical practice (did I mention she’s really smart and talented?) she immediately told me that she does not want to do surgery because surgeons don’t get to develop long-term relationship with their patients and their families. Eventually she wants to work in a developing nation, delivering medical care to those who presently cannot even imagine what it is like to have a doctor of their own.
(pt 4)
Why is it important to empower women? As much as I’d like to say it’s because young women with as much promise as my daughter deserve to be supported and empowered, that’s not the real reason. The real reason is that women and girls are made in the image of God. And that’s reason enough.
Every man and every woman in a position of authority and power should remember that their position is a trust given from God, and we are responsible to him just as we carry out our responsibilities to those around us.
This got long, Sharon, but you got me thinking again!
Tim
P.S. And the notion that I thought I had something so worthwhile to say that it took 4 comment windows to say it strikes me as hubristic. (Don't know if that's a real word, but I figured I'd use it anyway.)
And in case I failed to get this point across, I think this is another great article Sharon! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Tim
Awesome perspective, Tim!
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