MEN still outnumber women as incumbents by more than two to one in the Church of England, statistics published for the General Synod show.
Across the dioceses, 30.4 per cent of incumbents are women. In no dioceses do women outnumber men, although in five (Ely, Gloucester, Peterborough, Worcester) they make up 40 per cent or more of the total. The lowest percentages are found in Chichester (17 per cent), London (19 per cent), and Exeter (20 per cent). In 15 dioceses, fewer than 30 per cent of incumbents are women.
There is greater parity in part-time incumbency posts — which can include clergy couples — where women make up 48 per cent
The figures include a breakdown by age. Of the 138 under-35s in incumbencies, 32 per cent are women.
The figures, collected in 2022, were published in response to questions asked at the General Synod by Dr Felicity Cooke, a lay canon of Ely Cathedral and former vice-chair of Women and the Church (WATCH).
The statistics include a breakdown by gender of all full-time clergy across the dioceses. Of 6715 full-time clergy, women make up 32 per cent. Of the 2808 self-supporting clergy, women constitute 52.5 per cent. In eight dioceses, the percentage is 60 or above. Of 7103 self-supporting non-parochial clergy with PTO, 29 per cent are women. There is parity among self-supporting chaplains.
In total, women make up one third (33.5 per cent) of the stipendiary clergy. This has increased from 28 per cent in 2016 (News, 13 April).
Statistics were also published for assistant curates andassociate ministers. Nationally, women make up 44 per cent of the total. In six dioceses (Birmingham, Derby, Liverpool, St Albans, Salisbury, Southwell & Nottingham), they outnumber men. In part-time posts of that kind, women make up almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of the total. A little more than one third (35 per cent) of under-35s who are assistant curate or associate ministers are women.
Among senior diocesan staff, there are 258 men in full-time posts and 102 women. The exceptions, where women outnumber men, are Birmingham and Portsmouth. In other dioceses, the gender gap is marked: men outnumber women by eight to one in Chichester, 15 to two in Leeds, 13 to two in Southwark, six to one in Blackburn and Chester, and nine to two in Canterbury. There are no women in senior-staff posts in Carlisle. There are also no women under 40 in these posts in any diocese (there are nine men). There are 43 men aged 65 to 69, and four women.
When it comes to vocations, more women are in training for ordination than men (News, 19 June 2020). Of those that began their training in September 2023, 206 were women, and 149 were men. Women made up 44.5 per cent of the under-40s.
There are seven women diocesan bishops, soon to be eight, and 23 women suffragans.
On Tuesday, the chair of WATCH, the Revd Martine Oborne, welcomed the publication of the data. “We hope that the concerns that the data raises will be addressed,” she said. “Why do women continue to be so poorly represented in some dioceses, like London? Why are younger women not coming forward for ministry? And can we really expect equality of opportunity for women in ministry while institutional discrimination, that limits women’s roles in some churches, persists?”
WATCH has raised concerns about the monitoring and publication of data by the national church institutions. The last Ministry Statistics were published in 2020. During Questions, Dr Cooke asked whether, in future, the data could be published routinely.
The Revd Rosalind Rutherford, vice-chair of WATCH, said this week: “If an institution is serious about encouraging diversity, and ensuring that there is no unnoticed or indirect discrimination, then regular, consistent monitoring is essential. Regular publication of ministry statistics is essential.”
She cited the recent audit of maternity policies (News, 8 May) as another example of work “done by women, in addition to their other work, and with no contribution or help from the central Church of England”.
On Wednesday, the Bishop of Chester, the Rt Revd Mark Tanner, who chairs the Ministry Council, said that staffing issues lay behind the lack of publication of statistics rather than any desire to conceal the statistics: “My desire is to be transparent about everything.” It was “encouraging” that the percentage of stipendiary female clergy had increased year on year, he said, but parity had yet to be achieved, and he was keen to work with others.
Asked about Transformations, a group established in 2011 to explore women’s experiences of ministry, a Church House spokeswoman said: “Work is under way to bring new energy and direction to this important work under the leadership of the Rt Revd Ruth Worsley, Acting Bishop of Coventry with support from both Archbishops.”
On Tuesday, the Revd Lucy Davis, who chairs the National Association of Diocesan Advisers in Women’s Ministry, said that on the 30th anniversary of women’s ordination to the priesthood there was “lots to celebrate”, including the percentage of women in stipendiary posts “creeping upward”. The increase in the number of younger women being ordained could be attributed to the variety of training pathways available, and maternity-leave policy, she suggested. “This generation of women who are 35 and under can’t remember a time in the Church without women priests,” she said. “It is normalised for them.”
The number of dioceses in which women make up more than one third of incumbents had doubled since 2020, she noted. But many had still not reached this point, the threshold at which a minority “stopped being exceptionalised”. There remained a “glass ceiling” for diocesan-bishop posts, she said, and progress felt “slow”.
She expressed concern about “low-level misogyny” and online “vitriol” concerning women’s ordination, and evidence from union casework that women were disproportionately experiencing bullying and harassment. A lack of transparency in churches concerning their position on women’s ordination could also have an impact on vocations, she said (News, 26 June 2020).
On Wednesday, the Revd Arwen Folkes, Vicar-designate of St Mary’s, Eastbourne, in the diocese of Chichester, spoke of “a noticeable grimace whenever you say that you’re from this diocese; yet the work that has gone on here to change the culture is admirable, and a commitment to mutual flourishing is evident.”
On arriving in the diocese in 2019, she had found that senior clergy “went above and beyond to encourage and welcome me here. . . The theological and ecclesiological diversity here is quite pronounced, and that may be an additional factor in the low numbers; but I personally find that it makes for a significant degree of honesty about our differences — one that is often hidden or absent when everyone is trying to navigate a ‘nice’ common middle ground. I find it interesting and stimulating to be with people I disagree with, and the dialogue between us is often rich and real. It is surprising how often the grace of God is found when hospitality is given to difference.”
The “historic reputation” of the diocese might deter women from applying, she suggested, “which is a real shame, given how much our College of Bishops is keen to encourage more female clergy to join the diocese and see just how much the culture has changed. There is a genuine desire to improve the ratio, and I believe It is recognised and respected in the diocese of Chichester that the ‘household of faith’ is stronger with the full spectrum of the Church of England present.”