I recommend the book "Why so Slow" by Virginia Valian, which explains how a pattern of small, seemingly unimportant slights leads to a very real disadvantage and slow down of women's careers.

The Church of course is very like the academy. This sounds very similar to the experience of women academics particularly in science fields, who are disproportionately junior, in small universities, non-tenure track, carry out more service as opposed to research, and more likely to be a "trailing spouse" to another scientist.

The concept of the "leaking pipeline" is very real, as women leave the careers they have trained years for at a depressing rate.

Over the years, we have dealt with this by trying to be more like the men, or at least the prototypical male scientist ca. 1970, with a wife at home and the lab above everything.

But now we are realizing that the fundamental structure of academic science is the problem, and it is fair neither to women nor to men. As yet we have no recipe for that change, but increasingly it is recognized that it is not sustainable.

Sounds like the Church is identifying many of the same problems.

Susan Forsburg

To throw in my two cents, being younger, I've grown up around women clergy, and never really thought about them differently. Being active in high school and college now with the church, I've met many, just as many as men I think. If asked, I'd have to say that all the woman priests I've known have been very friendly, welcoming, middle of the road to liberal theologically, and middle of the road to contemporary liturgically, and all around very wonderful loving people. Yet that's the difference I think, for ALL the women clergy I've ever met have been pleasant, mild, middle of the road clergy, aka: normal people. Though I know there out there, I've NEVER met a clergywoman thats, "traditional" low church, i.e. "Chausables are of the devil, Calvinism and the 28' prayer book is of God" or "traditional" high church/anglo-catholic, i.e. "We MUST have a Missa Cantata in honor of the Feast of the Sacred Wounded Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Pouring Forth the Most Precious Blood of Christ...with a mandatory Novena after..." Yet, I've actually met more than one Episcopalian clergyman with those positions. I'm not sure what exactly that means, but that's just my honest observations of meeting/knowing woman priests.

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The hard thing to ascertain in parish life is whether the acting out comes because people don't accept a woman's leadership either consciously or subconsciously or if it would happen with a male priest as well. Since challenges to one's authority qua woman are hard to pin down if it is not people in your face telling you they do not approve of women's ordination (I suspect most women clergy have heard that at some point or another), it is hard to know. But as the first woman rector and priest in two congregations, and assistant in a third, each time there were moments when it seemed as though I was being challenged not on the merits of my leadership skills or weaknesses but because of my gender.

And don't get me going on the discernment process as it is practised these days.

I have always been the first woman priest at each church I served as an Interim. Usually the naysayers - after a while say - I didn't believe in women priests but you are okay. One thing I see is that if a woman priest has difficulty often churches will say - never another woman. But they never say that about male priests.
I don't think about it most of the time but occasionally someone will say "woman priest" and I think - oh yeah- right.
I was kind of astounded in my last position when they offered me the same pay scale as the previous male priest - and I did not have to protest and negotiate. Maybe we are moving forward.
Anecdotally I have heard that more men attend churches with women rectors or vicars -- would love a study to see if that is true.