What Would ‘Equal’ Look Like and How Do We Get There?

In spite of many decades of campaigning, women continue to face discrimination and prejudice in both Church and society. Equality of women and men has not yet been achieved, even in the Church of England, which includes women in all three of its historic orders. At the heart of the ongoing struggle is bad theology based on the misinterpretation of various Biblical texts in the light of patriarchal beliefs and attitudes about women and sexuality. Until and unless the effects of patriarchy are recognised and exposed as being incompatible with Christianity, both women and men will continue to suffer, and we will not know how true equality might transform our faith and our lives.