(RNS) — With a total of six decades of ministry between them, the Revs. Liz Ríos and Liz Mosbo VerHage were not surprised to learn that the vast majority of women ministers have faced misogyny.
But their new report, “Empowering Resilient Women Ministers: Unveiling the Fuel to Serve Amidst Misogyny,” revealed what helped keep their colleagues in the ministry. Across ages, races and denominations, women cited pursuing the call they believe they’ve received from God, supportive networks and perseverance as top contributors to their success.
The research by Ríos and VerHage, both ministers and scholars, revealed that 87% of the 610 women they surveyed said they experienced misogyny, defined as “discrimination, prejudice, objectification, or violence based on your gender,” in their ministry context. Forty-seven percent said they experience such discrimination regularly.
“Some of the women that have made space for them, that took their hand and said, ‘Hey, I’m going to invest in you, I’m going to show you the ropes so that you don’t have to go through some things’ … has also helped them in their resiliency,” said Ríos, a former Assemblies of God minister now affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) who is the founder of The Passion Center, an online faith community and training center.
The researchers plan to discuss their findings in an onl …