I’ve been involved in a series of discussions with younger women recently about feminism. In short, I’ve come to believe that many younger women may simply believe that feminism has done its part, and that we’re all treated equally now, and that feminism is dead. Of course, sites like feministing present just the opposite view.

But still, I’m struck by how the younger women that I know don’t seem to have any experience with sexism. So then I’m left wondering this:

Is it that they don’t have any experience with sexism?

or

Do they not have tools to identify sexism in the first place?

I hope it’s the former for their sakes.

This article in the NYT this morning summarizes one of the primary challenges for female clergy: the stained-glass ceiling (and trust me, it’s quite low). If congregants aren’t either staring at your breasts hoping to suckle later then they’re quoting Timothy to you about why you shouldn’t be there in the first place. Because if Timothy said, then it has to be the will of god.

(Why does this remind me of gays in the military? Oh, that’s right. Because it’s all about the hegemony making claims about what work people can and cannot do and then telling people to shut up about it. Right. Got it.)

Anyway, back to female clergy. Basically the career path for many ministers is to start at a small congregation, build it up, and then move to a moderate-sized congregation. After a series of moderate-sized churches, then onto the big congregation in the bigger city. Except that most women don’t get there. Why? Because congregations won’t hire them.