Missing Voices • 35 Christians for Biblical Equality As the Evangelical heological Society (ETS) celebrates sixty-ive years of a blessed existence, we look back from where we came and look forward to where we shall go. But unless we can move forward with all evangelicals, our work will not survive. As women continue to make gains in academic leadership, those at Christian institutions are oten let far behind. Seminaries and other institutions that operate under religious exemption from non-discrimination laws have a long tradition of male-only education that oten perpetuates itself through sexist practices. As a result, women have trouble breaking into faculty positions and inluencing scholarly journals that shape the minds of peers. In the evangelical world, women have a stronghold in the church as parishioners—but not in church leadership or in the academic world. One statistic notes that 57% of evangelicals in the pews are women. 2 Unfortunately, these numbers do not translate into mature women earning degrees in divinity or theology, which would form the base of ETS membership and the ranks of academia. his is not the venue to argue for the fundamental value of diversity in scholarship. here is a wealt h of research that has already done that. 3 Suice it to say, “Christian universities desperately need models of godly, evangelical, intellectual womanhood.” 4 he Landscape of Evangelical Women Students at Seminaries Women make up about 34% of all graduate students in religious educational institutions 5 (see Figure 1). his includes Cat holic seminaries (where women are permitted to earn pontiical degrees but cannot be ordained), mainline Protestant seminaries, and many denominations in between. Evangelical seminaries, though many accept women’s ordination, lag woefully behind these numbers. By some accounts “the average percentage of female M.Div.’s at Evangelical seminaries is just 21%” (see Figure 2), nine percent lower than female enrollment at other mainline Protestant and Catholic institutions. 6 Writing over twenty years ago, Catholic theologian Mary Hunt noted that when men control seminaries and women do not enter these institutions, women cannot gain access to the language of academic debate, and therefore can never enter into theological conversations. She writes, “here are still t heological faculties in this country, and many places around the world, where women are not permitted to study or take advanced degrees in theology . . . . his lack of knowledge. . . results in control by t hose who can manipulate the jargon and concepts of the discipline to keep women as permanent outsiders.” 7 Unfortunately, not much has changed in the last two decades and Hunt’s words are as easily applicable to Catholic institutions as evangelical. For instance, the conservative Protestant Master’s Seminary motto is “we train men [sic] as if lives depended on it.” 8 hey do not accept women into degree programs. But even when women are “allowed” to earn theological degrees and work their way through masters and PhD programs, vocational opportunities are scarce. Women oten remain a minori ty on faculty and can only ind token employment in low-ranking positions. According to the Association of heological Schools (ATS), which accredits religious institutions, only 18% of full professors at all seminaries, divinity schools and religious departments were women in 2011 (see Figure 3). 9 he Landscape of Evangelical Women Academics in the ETS Evangelicals sufer from a dearth of women in academia, and at every stage of the vocational academic progression more women drop out. his means t hat there are fewer women who identify as evangelical who might qualify and be interested in joining the ETS in the irst place. he ETS is a main artery of evangelical scholarship and networking. hey self-describe as “a professional, academic society of Biblical scholars, teachers, pastors, students.” 10 It connects academic evangelicals to each other, with biblical study at the center of its mission. Since it requires that members sign a statement he Present and Future of the ETS: Women’s Involvement with the Society, the Journal, and Membership 1 Cristina Richie Presented to the Evangelical heological Society 65 th Annual Meeting, 2013, Baltimore, MD. Figure 1 Figure 2