Christian Leadership Alliance

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Women as Leaders: Understanding God's Call in our Lives

The rise of women joining the global workforce continues to be of great interest. Not only are organizations affected from this shift of women moving from primarily working in their homes to joining the workforce, but communities, cities, and even governments are taking notice of both the ramifications of and opportunities for women as they join the workforce. Statistics in January, 2009 show that for the first time women make up more than 50% of the workforce in America. According to the U.S. Congresses' Joint Economic Committee study, 72.7% of women between the ages of 24 to 54 were employed in 2008. Should women work outside of the home or be in leadership roles? A myriad of beliefs exists on this subject, ranging from a woman's place is in the home to a role of women as empowered and strong.

We choose a different road; we believe that a woman can be duplicitous: a woman who loves her home life and joyfully serves in the role of helpmate and mother, and a woman who is a great leader, used by God to serve in a role that changes organizations, governments, and individual lives while contributing to the workplace with strength. With so many women working, the example to successfully balance home and work life is found in the life of the Proverbs 31 woman.

This article takes a brief look at the rise of women in the workforce. After examining the Proverbs 31 woman, we present strategies for women to balance both home and work life. We end by encouraging women to follow all that God has for them, while realizing there is no perfect picture of what a woman should be, other than to follow with diligence the call on her life before the Lord.

History of Women Joining the Workforce

Although less is known about women joining the workforce outside of the Westernized countries, we are beginning to learn of this shift throughout the globe. For example, in the United Arab Emirates, "Women make up about 70 percent of the college and university population, and their participation in the workforce has multiplied six-fold since the 1970s (about 25 percent currently). Emiratis continue to place a strong emphasis on traditional family and home values, but the government actively encourages women to enter the workforce as well." For many nations, this shift from women serving as full-time homemakers to both full-time homemakers AND full-time employees outside of the home began as a slow progression beginning in the mid- to late-1800s. America has been a front-runner in women's rights, the right for women to vote, and women joining the workforce in both traditional and non-traditional work roles. Just over 100 years, women in the American workforce grew from 15% to 73%; although for most of the world, the percentage of women in the workforce still hovers around 25%. Although the earnings gap between males and females has narrowed since 1980, as of 2008, women in America are paid 78 cents for every dollar that a male receives for the same job. According to the UN Development Fund for Women, "Most women throughout the world work in low-skilled, low-wage jobs. They are paid less than men in nearly every country in the world and they work longer hours." For many women, according to the report, "Their work often is dangerous and many women risk their lives each time they go to their jobs." Understandably, women entering the workforce have not been a smooth, easy shift. Further, many Christian women wonder if working outside of the home is biblical. They ask questions like, "How will I balance between raising my children, keeping the house in order, AND working in a full-time job?"

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Posted: April 28, 2009 9:48 PM A. Gaddis

There was a saying women had after WWII. "WWI took the best, WWII took the rest." Then there were the next 2 wars... "Of the cr*p left over, Korea took the best, Viet Nam took the rest." Look what we have left to marry! Men with anger management problems, alcohol and drug addictions, manic depressives, bi-polars, dyslexics, I could fill the page! We HAVE to go to work. We no longer have a choice. AND when did all the Insane Isylams open their doors? They used to make sure THOSE people would not have babies. Not any more. So now we are having babies with all the crazy men of the world... and making MORE crazy men AND women. Our nation has become full of young people who are brutal and can't think. We no longer have a wholesome healthy family to stay home with, to go to church with on Sundays, to go to Soda shops with, to have picnics with, to love...

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