Women in the pulpit: Characteristics of protestant churches led by a female pastor

Abstract

This study examines how congregational characteristics of a Protestant church relate to having a female pastor, using the glass ceiling and glass cliff theories. The analysis of the 2018–2019 National Congregational Study and the National Survey of Religious Leaders linked data shows that churches with a greater number of participants are less likely to have a female pastor, implying that the glass ceiling is more pervasive in larger congregations. The results also reveal that churches with stagnant or declining revenues are more likely to have a female pastor, which is consistent with the glass cliff theory. Churches with a greater level of racial diversity and those located in urban areas are more likely to have a female pastor, suggesting a link between sociodemographic diversity within a congregation and women's congregational leadership. These findings can be applied to understanding the gender gap in nonprofit leadership in general.