Why the Best Man for the Job is a Woman: The Unique Female Qualities of Leadership hails the lady CEO as a sign of a revolution taking place in a corporate culture traditionally dominated by men. The world of business is changing...and it is women who are best suited to meet the challenges of the modern marketplace. Book [the author] contends that women such as Meg Whitman of eBay and Marcy Carsey of Carsey-Werner succeed because they embody seven uniquely female abilities: they can sell their visions; they are not afraid to reinvent the rules; they are closely focused on achievement; they show courage under fire; they turn challenges into opportunities; they are aware of customer preferences; and they maximize what Book calls "high touch" in an era of high tech.
Within the church, I think we need to be really careful to avoid the temptation to make the argument that women have uniquely female qualities that not only qualifies them to be pastors, but makes them better suited for the task. First, persons are called into ministry. Each person, male or female, is uniquely gifted for the ministry to which the Holy Spirit calls him or her. Secondly, to say women are better qualified based on their abilites (as the book review indicates) is to diminish men and their gifts and what they have historically contributed to the ministry. Thirdly, there should be no competition nor contrast and comparison. Fourthly, to speak of women as though they are totally different in their ministry giftings from men, is to minimize and isolate womens' gifts and still maintain the male model of pastoral leadership as the norm. The Holy Spirit is the gift giver and the One who does the calling. To make this argument does a disservice to those called into ministry and also to the Third Person of the Trinity. Women do not have to be better (or the same) as the opposite sex. They, like men, just have to be called!
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