Rabbis and Ministers: Women of the Book and the Cloth

Simon, Rita J.; Scanlan, Angela J.; Nadell, Pamela S.

doi:10.2307/3711845

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…The literature suggests that male and female pastors tend to differ in two important approaches to their ministry: the type of work they prefer and their leadership style. First, the types of work preferred by female pastors can be summarized as being "people oriented" (Simon et al 1993). Finlay (1996) interviewed seminary students and found that men were more likely than women to aspire to work in large churches in suburban areas and women more likely than men to prefer smaller, rural churches.…”

Section: Theoretical and Empirical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several scholars argue that women pastors' leadership style is less hierarchical and rigid than men's, more concerned with sharing power and decision making with congregation members, and more intent on consensus building (Ice 1987;Nason-Clark 1987;Stevens 1989). Women are also described by scholars as being generally uncomfortable with administrative aspects of congregational leadership (Ice 1987; Simon et al 1993) and as preferring to work with smaller support staffs to reduce bureaucracy and the amount of time necessary for staff coordination and supervision (Ice 1987). This style of leadership is described as a complement to women's preference for spending time interacting closely with congregation members in personalized ministry.…”

Section: Theoretical and Empirical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to seeking equality in their denominations, many of these women may have sought to bring a new style of ministry to the profession. Several scholars argue that women pastors are more oriented toward pastoral ministry than are their male counterparts and less interested in job status and the concept of career (Finlay 1996;Simon, Scanlan, and Nadall 1993;Stevens 1989;Nason-Clark 1987). Furthermore, women's style of ministry has been described as one of power-sharing-an approach to interaction with others that is relatively unconcerned with hierarchy and supervision.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Gender and Mainline Protestant Pastors’ Allocation of Time to Work Tasks

Perl

2002

Scientific Study of Religion

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Some scholars argue that male and female members of the Protestant clergy have differing ministerial styles. They argue that women are more person-oriented and interested in direct interaction with their parishioners and that men are more focused on job status and interested in administration. Using data on 1,688 clergy in eight mainline denominations, this research note compares the proportion of time that male and female pastors spend on 10 work tasks. Women devote less time than men to staff administration and supervision, a difference that is empirically attributable to their underrepresentation as senior pastors. The expectation of differing ministerial styles is most strongly supported in women's greater allocation of time to pastoral counseling-a "personalized," one-on-one ministry. However, they also spend proportionately less time than men on home and hospital visitation. This seemingly anomalous difference can be explained empirically as a factor of differential childcare responsibilities, which appear to limit women's but not men's movement away from home and church.In the late 1960s and 1970s, women began entering the mainline Protestant clergy in substantial numbers. In addition to seeking equality in their denominations, many of these women may have sought to bring a new style of ministry to the profession. Several scholars argue that women pastors are more oriented toward pastoral ministry than are their male counterparts and less interested in job status and the concept of career (Finlay 1996;Simon, Scanlan, and Nadall 1993;Stevens 1989; Nason-Clark 1987). Furthermore, women's style of ministry has been described as one of power-sharing-an approach to interaction with others that is relatively unconcerned with hierarchy and supervision. In this research note, I examine whether male and female pastors allocate their time in ways that reflect different ministerial styles. Using data on clergy careers in eight mainline denominations and building on prior research by Lehman (1993), I compare time spent in 10 work activities, focusing on tasks that are likely to be closely related to ministerial style: "personal" forms of ministry and administration/supervision. THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL BACKGROUNDThe literature suggests that male and female pastors tend to differ in two important approaches to their ministry: the type of work they prefer and their leadership style. First, the types of work preferred by female pastors can be summarized as being "people oriented" (Simon et al. 1993). Finlay (1996 interviewed seminary students and found that men were more likely than women to aspire to work in large churches in suburban areas and women more likely than men to prefer smaller, rural churches. Women were also more likely to see prison and hospital chaplancies, minority churches, and urban ministries as attractive. Finlay argued that these differences reflect a tendency for women to be interested in interpersonal contact and a tendency for men to be concerned with job status. Steven's (1989) findings sugges...

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Section: Theoretical and Empirical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Theoretical and Empirical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gender and Mainline Protestant Pastors’ Allocation of Time to Work Tasks

Perl

2002

Scientific Study of Religion

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“…Clergywomen display a commitment to responsible caring for others rooted in their learned female cultural role (Ice, 1987). Researchers have found that clergywomen tend to be approachable and emotionally vulnerable, likely to reach out and hug their parishioners, and to share their personal stories with their congregations (Simon & Nadell, 1995;Simon, Scanlan, & Nadell, 1993). Clergywomen tend to allocate less time to administration and visitation than men do.…”

Section: "Doing Gender" In Religious Ministrymentioning

confidence: 99%

The relationship between work and well‐being in clergywomen: implications for career counseling

Frame¹,

Shehan

2005

Journal of Employment Couns

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This article focuses on the ministry, a profession in which 2 important characteristics intersect to pose special challenges for women in balancing their work and family responsibilities. In this qualitative study of clergywomen (N = 190), the authors examined the impact of being female in a male-dominated occupation, particularly one that has been traditionally structured as a "2-person career." They argue that career counselors are in a unique position to prepare future clergywomen for the special challenges they will face in the ministry and make recommendations for ways in which career counselors may serve this distinctive population. . mThe literature on women's employment and the intersection of work and family has both proliferated and become more sophisticated in the last 2 decades (Shehan, 1992). Early studies of work and well-being among women focused on the question of who fared better psychologically, employed wives and mothers or homemakers (Gove &Tudor, 1973;Wright, 1978). These studies were concerned mostly with how many hours women spent in a particular occupation (paid or unpaid) and the amount and type of work that was performed. A significant omission was information regarding the variety of jobs women held and the demographic factors such as age, social class, and family life cycle stage that affected their experiences. Current research focuses on the impact that structural qualities of jobs have on workers' well-being

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“…In our second article (Simon et al 1993), we compared the experiences of female rabbis with those of female ministers in selected Protestant denominations. We reported that the rabbis saw their roles in much more secular terms.…”

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confidence: 99%

In the Same Voice or Is It Different?: Gender and the Clergy

Simon

Nadell

1995

Sociology of Religion

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This paper reports the observations of male ministers and rabbis to the manner in which the.ir female colleagues perform the.ir clerical roles, h indicates that the men do not see the differences in style and substance that the women clergy claim they have introduce&She prefers to sit in a circle and discuss a text to giving a sermon; cradles babies when welcoming them to the covenant; cries unabashedly at funerals; and has been criticized by denominational leaders for kissing congregants at life cycle events. When asked ii: she thinks she carries out her role as rabbi differently than her male coIleagues, she answers, emphatically, yes. He says gender differences do not exist in the rabbinate except for the fact that women rabbis provide girls with positive role models. When asked if he carries out his rabbinical roles differently than a female colleague, he answers, emphatically, no.This paper reports the observations of male ministers and rabbis to the manner in which their female colleagues perform their roles. As described in our earlier work, female clergy, both rabbis and ministers, believe they fulfill their roles differently than their male colleagues and that these differences are, in fact, based on sex. In our first article we explored the backgrounds, motivations, and experiences of female rabbis (Simon and Nadell 1991). Based on thirty-five indepth interviews with thirty-two Reform, two Reconstructionist, and one Conservative rabbi, we asked: "As a rabbi who is also a woman, do you think you carry out your rabbinical role differently than a male rabbi who is the same age as you are and who was ordained from the seminary?" Almost all the respondents answered: "Yes." The women described themselves as less formal, more approachable, more egalitarian, more likely to reach out to touch and hug, less likely to intrude their egos, and less likely to seek center stage. They asserted that they perform rites of passage ceremonies differently. Some used the phrase "t" Direct aU correspondence to Prof. Pamela Nade.U,

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Rabbis and Ministers: Women of the Book and the Cloth

Cited by 8 publications

References 9 publications

Gender and Mainline Protestant Pastors’ Allocation of Time to Work Tasks

Gender and Mainline Protestant Pastors’ Allocation of Time to Work Tasks

The relationship between work and well‐being in clergywomen: implications for career counseling

In the Same Voice or Is It Different?: Gender and the Clergy

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