WHEN I first stepped into ministry life, I remember a mentor saying. “Welcome to the Boys’ Club.” I knew exactly what she meant.
 
The reality is that since I was a young girl, I was taught that women are to be silent and not to have a place at the Church leadership table. I didn’t know anything different and so, looking back, I guess I accepted (and submitted) to this particular teaching of the Church.

However, deep inside me there was a deep sense of call, and I eventually found myself in a place where my theology and reality did not match up. In short, I went ahead and began my theological/ pastoral training, and today I am ordained.

 

However, as I look back over the past twenty years, I confess nothing prepared me for the misogyny that I would face in my everyday life. I quickly realised that I had indeed stepped into the Boys’ Club.
 
Sadly, twenty years later, misogyny is still alive and well within our society.
 
Most (if not all) women have a story to tell with regards to misogyny, and certainly within the Church context women are still silenced. This is why it is paramount that we keep standing up and speaking out.
 
I’m thankful for the many women who paved the way for me. I’m thankful for the many men who have stood with me-against the odds. We may still have a long way to go, but we must continue to amplify the voices of women.

Let’s be clear: it isn’t “women just being sensitive” or a simple joke/banter… anything that denigrates any woman, is misogyny. Also, let’s remember the words of Paul: “In Christ... there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male or female.” (Galatians 3:28.)
 
We are all equal. God created us all equal. Therefore, let’s champion each other and pave a better way for our daughters.