When organizations are committed to gender equality, what gets in the way of their achieving it? How and why do well-intentioned people end up reinforcing sexism? Katie Lauve-Moon examines these questions by focusing on religious congregations that separated from their mainline denomination in order to support women's equal leadership. In Preacher Woman, Lauve-Moon concentrates on congregations affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF). Women are enrolling in Baptist seminaries at almost equal rates as men and CBF identifies the equal leadership of women as a core component of its collective identity, yet only five percent of CBF congregations employ women as solo senior pastors. Preacher Woman explores how congregations can be committed to ideas of gender parity while still falling short in practice. Lauve-Moon investigates how institutional sexism is upheld through both unconscious and conscious biases. In doing so, she demonstrates that addressing issues of sexism and gender inequality within organizations must extend beyond good intentions and inclusive policies.

"In a time when much of America's social critique has been shifting the focus from individuals to systems, Preacher Woman makes an important contribution to understanding gender inequalities in religious communities from a systemic vantage point and is an essential addition to the scholarly work on gender and religion." - Benjamin R. Knoll, Sociology of Religion

"an important study" - Dwayne Howell, Homiletic

"Shattering the stained-glass ceiling is now a closer reality with Lauve-Moon's Preacher Woman. This thorough and multi-disciplinary work is a much-needed mandate for churches to address the embedded sexist policies that continue to hold women back from leadership roles. It is this kind of research and forthright narration that might indeed break down systemic barriers and transform our ecclesial institutions toward true gender equity." - Karoline M. Lewis, Marbury E. Anderson Chair and Professor of Biblical Preaching, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN

"Preacher Woman goes a long way to explaining why women remain so under-represented in the pulpits even of a religious group that espouses gender equality. Lauve-Moon shows how the absence of role models, ostensibly gender-neutral hiring practices that are anything but, implicit and explicit biases, and subtle and not-so-subtle discouragements all play a role. Preacher Woman is a must-read for anyone wanting to understand the barriers to true equal opportunity for female clergy." - Mark Chaves, Professor of Sociology, Religious Studies, and Divinity, Duke University