Women and the Australian Church

The Gender Pay Gap in Australian Churches in 2026

For decades, Christian women across Australia have been faithful leaders, workers, ministers, teachers, and social‑justice advocates. Yet the latest national gender pay gap data shows that—even within our churches and Christian organisations—women continue to be paid less than men for their work. This gap is not merely a number. It is a justice issue at the heart of Christian feminist concern.

A National Picture: The Gender Pay Gap Is Alive and Well

Across the Australian workforce, the gender pay gap persists despite incremental progress.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the national hourly gender pay gap was 8.4% as of May 2025, with women earning an average of $46 per hour compared to men’s $50.20.

Meanwhile, WGEA’s 2025 dataset shows a national median pay gap of 18.6%, meaning women earn just 78 cents for every dollar earned by men.
This aligns with long‑standing patterns of gendered job segregation, unequal access to leadership, and disproportionate caring responsibilities carried by women.

These national dynamics form the backdrop for what we see inside churches and affiliated Christian organisations.

Christian Organisations Under the Spotlight

In March 2025, The Other Cheek analysed WGEA’s employer-level pay‑gap release, revealing how some of Australia’s largest Christian organisations are performing. The findings show a mixed but still troubling picture.

Examples from Major Christian Employers

Anglicare Sydney: 10.2% gender pay gap
Anglicare SA: 7.1%
Mission Australia: 7.2%
The Salvation Army (Australia): 5.2%
BaptistCare NSW/ACT: 9.3%
Uniting NSW.ACT: 6.4%

A few organisations fare better:

Anglicare Victoria: –3.5% (women ahead)
St Peter’s College Adelaide: 1.9%
Presbyterian Trust (including PLC Sydney & Scots College): 0.7%

But others show significant gaps, especially some Christian schools where the pay gap exceeds 9–12%.

These figures indicate that Christian institutions reflect broader workforce inequalities—despite frequently having missions grounded in justice, dignity, and service.

Catholic Employers: A More Positive Trend (But Not Perfect)

Interestingly, a Catholic Weekly report highlights that Catholic employers perform better than the national median, with gaps often below 19%.
Examples include:

Australian Catholic University: 14.5%
Caritas Australia: 13.1%
Archdiocese of Sydney: 12.2%

These numbers are still gaps—but comparatively smaller than many non‑religious and Christian counterparts. Many Catholic agencies attribute improvement to expanded parental leave access, flexible work, and concerted efforts to increase women in senior roles.

This demonstrates what is possible when gender equity becomes an intentional organisational priority.

Why Does the Pay Gap Occur in Churches?

The drivers affecting the broader Australian workforce are also at play in religious institutions:

1. Underrepresentation of Women in Senior Leadership

Across Australia’s industries, the overrepresentation of men in high‑paying roles is a key driver of the pay gap.
Churches and Christian NFPs are no exception—boards, senior clergy roles, and executive positions are still disproportionately held by men.

2. Gender‑segregated Roles

Women are clustered in caring, administrative, and teaching roles—vital ministry work, but often lower paid.
This mirrors the broader national trend where female‑dominated sectors and occupations remain undervalued.

3. Cultural Assumptions About Women’s Availability

Nationally, women take on the majority of unpaid care, impacting their progression and hours worked.
In churches, these assumptions are often reinforced by traditional gender expectations around ministry and family life.

4. Lack of Transparent Pay Structures

Many Christian organisations historically have not conducted systematic pay‑gap analysis.
WGEA notes that only 68% of Australian employers had conducted such an analysis in 2023–24.
Religious employers may lag even further behind.

Why Addressing This Gap Matters for the Church’s Witness

Christian feminism has long insisted that justice in the Church is inseparable from justice in society. A pay gap within Christian workplaces undermines our credibility when advocating equality, dignity, and the value of all people made in God’s image.

Closing the pay gap is not just about equity—it’s about:

Properly valuing women’s gifts in ministry, leadership, and service
Addressing historic patterns of exclusion and under recognition
Building Christian communities where justice is lived, not merely proclaimed

If the Church cannot model gender justice in its own workplaces, how can it credibly call for justice in the world?

A Way Forward: What Churches and Christian Organisations Can Do

Here are steps grounded in national research that any Christian employer can begin today:

1. Conduct a Pay‑Gap Audit Every Year

WGEA identifies pay‑gap analysis as the “critical first step” toward equity.

2. Increase Women’s Representation in Senior Roles

National data shows this is one of the most effective ways to reduce the gap.

3. Review Job Segregation

Examine why women are clustered in lower‑paid roles and create pathways to leadership.

4. Strengthen Parental‑Leave and Flexibility Policies

Catholic organisations highlight how these policies improve outcomes.

5. Build a Culture of Gender Equity Rooted in Theology

Christian feminist theology offers powerful frameworks for recognising women’s full humanity and leadership.

Conclusion: A Call to Christian Justice

The gender pay gap in Australian churches is not merely an HR problem—it is a theological one.
It calls us to repentance, courage, and transformation.

As WATAC continues its work to elevate women’s voices and reform church structures, naming the gender pay gap—and advocating to close it—is part of our call to build a Church where all are valued equally and fully.

Beyond Simple Answers: Women in the Pauline Churches

When people talk about ministry and leadership in the churches Paul worked with, the discussion often becomes too simple. It is usually reduced to one question:

Did Paul allow women to minister?

This question expects a short answer: yes or no. But that approach misses the point. It forces a complex situation into neat boxes and ignores how early Christian communities really worked.

When we look more carefully at Paul’s letters, we see a much richer picture. The early Church was not tidy or uniform. Different communities faced different challenges, and Paul responded to real people in real situations.

Ministry and Leadership Are Not the Same

One important thing to understand is that ministry and leadership are not exactly the same.

In the New Testament, ministry means serving others. Paul believed that all Christians—men and women—were called to serve Christ and the community. He did not limit ministry to one gender.

Most debates are really about leadership, not ministry. The question is whether women led churches, not whether they served them.

Even then, many Bible passages used in this debate are not mainly about leadership roles. For example, passages in 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, and 1 Timothy deal with:

behaviour in worship
family relationships
teaching and learning
keeping peace and order

These texts respond to specific problems. They are not simple rule books. That is why quick answers do not work well.

Leadership in the First Churches

Leadership in the earliest churches took different forms. There was no single model.

Some leaders travelled from place to place to tell people about Jesus. These leaders included apostles and missionaries, like Paul himself. They helped start new churches and supported growing communities.

Other leaders stayed in one place. They looked after the daily life of the church. They taught, encouraged, and guided the community.

These roles often overlapped. A person could be a travelling leader at one time and a local leader at another. Leadership was flexible and shaped by the needs of the church.

Most recorded leaders were men, but Paul’s letters show clearly that some women were leaders as well.

Priscilla is often named with her husband Aquila. In many passages, her name comes first. This suggests that she played a leading role.

In the book of Acts, Priscilla helps teach Apollos, an educated teacher. This shows that she had knowledge, confidence, and authority. Priscilla and Aquila also hosted churches in their home, which made them important local leaders.

Phoebe was a respected leader in her church. Paul calls her a minister and also a patron, someone who supports others with her resources.

She likely carried Paul’s letter to the Romans. This was an important task. It meant she would have read the letter aloud and helped people understand it. Paul speaks very highly of her and trusts her role.

Junia is one of the most striking examples. Paul describes her as “well‑known among the apostles.” Strong evidence shows that Junia was a woman and that she was recognised as an apostle.

Later readers struggled with this idea and tried to explain it away. This shows how powerful assumptions can shape interpretation.

Other women—such as Lydia, Nympha, Chloe, Euodia, and Syntyche—also appear as hosts, co‑workers, and leaders. Paul says that Euodia and Syntyche worked hard alongside him in spreading the gospel.

All of this points to a mixed picture:

Women took part in leadership and teaching
At the same time, churches still reflected social rules about family and household order

The early Church held these things together, even when they were uncomfortable. It was not perfect or simple. It was learning as it grew.

Why This Still Matters

The early Church does not give us one clear answer for today. Instead, it reminds us to be careful and honest when we read Scripture.

Paul’s churches show us that leadership was diverse and shaped by mission, culture, and community needs. Women like Priscilla, Phoebe, and Junia were not side notes. They were central to the life of the Church.

Their stories remind us that Christian leadership has always been more complex—and more surprising—than we often expect.

***Based on the chapter “Apostles, Deacons, Patrons, Co-workers, and Heads of Household: Women Leaders in the Pauline Communities” by Paula Gooder in the 2013 book Biblical Interpretation and Method: Essays in Honour of John Barton, edited by Katharine J. Dell and Paul M. Joyce

Image: Theodora holds the chalice. Altar apse mosaic, Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna.
Source: Wilpert, Malereien, pl. 110

Faith, Feminism and the Reimagining of Power in Australia and the Pacific

For Christian feminists, patriarchy is not simply a social problem “out there”. It is also a spiritual and theological challenge: a distortion of power that harms women, limits men, silences communities, and contradicts the Gospel’s call to dignity, justice, and abundant life.

In Australia and across the Pacific, this challenge has deep roots. Gender inequality has been shaped by Indigenous governance systems, colonial rule, Christian missions, capitalism, land dispossession, migration, militarisation, and contemporary development agendas. As a result, Christian feminist work cannot be limited to requests for women’s inclusion in existing structures. It must also involve a faithful reimagining of power itself.

This means asking difficult questions about leadership, culture, land, care, community, and what it means to follow Christ in societies marked by unequal power relationships.

Patriarchy Is a Theological Issue

Patriarchy influences who controls land, resources, bodies, labour, knowledge, and decision-making. These are not merely political questions. They are questions about justice, neighbour-love, human dignity, and the kind of community God calls us to become.

Christian feminists are concerned with:

Land and resources: Who inherits, owns, manages, or speaks for land and sea?
Bodies and safety: Who controls sexuality, reproduction, family roles, and protection from violence?
Labour and care: Whose work is valued, rewarded, or made invisible?
Knowledge and culture: Whose stories, languages, traditions, and authority are recognised?
Leadership and voice: Who gets to make decisions in homes, churches, communities, and governments?

The encouraging news is that women across Australia and the Pacific are doing far more than seeking access to traditionally male spaces. They are helping to reshape leadership itself, making it more collaborative, relational, culturally grounded, and focused on care and justice.

Seven Ways Women Are Challenging Patriarchy

1. Leading in Politics, Governance and Public Life

Women are increasingly taking leadership roles in parliaments, community organisations, church councils, theological colleges, and local governance structures.

For Christian feminists, leadership is not about replicating systems of domination. Rather, it is about embodying leadership as service, wisdom, courage, accountability, and care.

Women’s leadership reflects a fuller vision of the Body of Christ, where gifts and callings are recognised regardless of gender.

It is worth remembering that Aotearoa New Zealand became the first self-governing nation in the world to grant women the right to vote in parliamentary elections. Christian women were among those who viewed suffrage as both a civic and moral cause.

2. Reading Culture and Scripture with Liberating Eyes

Gender equality is sometimes portrayed as being in conflict with faith or culture. Yet many women are working from within both cultural and Christian traditions to challenge harmful practices while preserving what is life-giving.

This work is particularly significant in Pacific nations where Christianity shapes community life and social values. Theology can either reinforce inequality or become a powerful resource for liberation.

Across the region, women theologians, church leaders, and community advocates are developing interpretations of Scripture that affirm the equal dignity of women and men while challenging teachings that have been used to justify exclusion or violence.

The result is theology that remains faithful while also being transformative.

3. Leading Climate Justice Movements

Climate change is one of the defining challenges facing the Pacific. Rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and environmental degradation affect food security, housing, health, migration, and the future of entire communities.

Women are not simply experiencing these impacts; they are leading responses to them.

From local adaptation projects to international advocacy, Pacific women are at the forefront of climate justice movements. They are organising communities, protecting ecosystems, caring for families, and speaking in global forums.

Christian feminism understands climate justice as an expression of creation care and neighbour-love. It rejects the stereotype of women as passive victims and instead recognises women as leaders, experts, organisers, and visionaries.

4. Building Economic Independence While Valuing Care

Economic empowerment is another way women challenge patriarchal structures.

Education, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, cooperatives, and access to paid work can transform the balance of power within households and communities.

Yet Christian feminism also offers an important critique of economic systems that value people solely according to productivity.

Caring for children, supporting elders, maintaining relationships, volunteering, and sustaining community life are forms of labour that often go unpaid and unrecognised. Christian feminists insist that this work matters. A just society honours care alongside economic achievement.

5. Speaking Truth About Violence

Women across Australia and the Pacific are challenging the silence surrounding domestic, family, and sexual violence.

Through survivor advocacy, legal reform, crisis services, prevention programs, educational initiatives, and community accountability processes, women are helping create safer communities.

Many are also drawing attention to the ways violence intersects with racism, colonisation, poverty, migration status, and other forms of disadvantage.

For people of faith, confronting violence is not optional. It is central to the Gospel’s call to protect the vulnerable and uphold the dignity of every human being.

6. Building Women’s Networks and Shared Knowledge

Patriarchy often thrives by isolating women and treating their experiences as private concerns.

Women’s networks challenge this isolation by creating spaces for solidarity, mentoring, research, advocacy, and collective learning.

Across Australia and the Pacific, women are building regional partnerships that share resources, develop leadership, support emerging voices, and strengthen movements for change.

These networks transform individual struggles into collective action and help ensure that women do not have to work for justice alone.

7. Challenging Colonial Patriarchy

In Australia and the Pacific, conversations about gender cannot be separated from histories of colonisation.

Many women’s movements recognise that patriarchy and colonialism have often operated together, shaping laws, institutions, economic systems, and ideas about authority.

As a result, some women are working not only for gender equality but also for Indigenous sovereignty, land rights, language revitalisation, cultural authority, and self-determination.

This is a powerful reminder that justice is about more than inclusion. Sometimes it requires questioning whether existing systems themselves are fair and life-giving.

Across parts of the Pacific where matrilineal traditions continue, women’s customary authority over land offers important alternatives to both colonial legal systems and patriarchal assumptions about ownership, inheritance, and community leadership.

Reimagining Power for a More Just Future

Women in Australia and the Pacific are breaking patriarchy in ways that go far beyond entering male-dominated institutions.

They are reshaping leadership, transforming theology, advancing climate justice, building economic alternatives, confronting violence, strengthening networks of solidarity, and challenging the legacy of colonial power.

Their work reminds us that gender justice cannot be separated from questions of culture, land, care, community, and self-determination.

For Christian feminists, this is ultimately a matter of faith. It is about participating in God’s ongoing work of justice and reconciliation, and helping to create communities where every person can flourish with dignity, freedom, and hope.

The reimagining of power is not simply about who holds authority. It is about creating relationships, institutions, and communities that reflect the justice, compassion, and mutuality at the heart of the Gospel.