Gifted for Leadership is a US website and community of Christian women in leadership. About a year ago they commissioned a survey on sexual harrassment within the church in the US, and have since produced a resource looking at the issue. Roxanne Wieman, the editor of the site, writes:

'First, it surprised me just how many women had experienced sexual misconduct or harassment in some way at work or in the church. Out of the 779 self-described "active Christian women" we surveyed, more than a quarter of them have personally experienced sexually inappropriate behavior, and one fourth of those who experienced it said it happened in a church or ministry setting. One in four women is a lot. And even more surprising to me than that, was how many women said they'd never been the victim of sexual harassment, but then went on to report they had experienced sexually inappropriate behavior such as touching, suggestive jokes, or gender-based discrimination. If that's not sexual misconduct, I don't know what is.

Ann Pettifor

Christianity magazine has an article this month on 'Life after Joel' as Joel Edwards leaves the Evangelical Alliance. It wonders who will take over from him, and although the article agrees that the post could potentially be held by a woman, it assumes, probably accurately, that Joel's succesor will be male.

The article suggests a list of attributes of the ideal candidate:

• The preaching ability of a Steve Gaukroger or a Steve Brady
• The theological nous of a David Hilbourne or an Elaine Storkey
• The broad appeal of a Hugh Osgood or a Rob Parsons
• The grasp of the younger generation of a Krish Kandiah or a Pete Greig
• The networking skills of a Lyndon Bowring or a Russ Rook
• The strategic focus of a Steve Chalke or a Terry Virgo.

Well hooray for Elaine, who is clearly the only woman in Christendom that is worth emulating; let's hope she's not still the only woman that people have heard of. But it made me wonder who are the women who have been left out of that list. Who are the women leaders, entrepreneurs and activists that have the qualities that any leader, male or female, of an organisation or business would be pleased to have? I came up with the following.

• The grit, determination and vision of Ann Pettifor, driving force behind Jubilee 2000 and now executive director of Advocacy International
• The leadership wisdom and experience of Jill Garrett, director of leadership development at Caret
• The networking ability of Ann Holt, OBE, director of programme for the Bible Society
• The grasp of the younger generation of Jill Rowe, Oasis community and church development director, or Rachel Gardner, creative director of Romance Academy
• The passion, preaching abiity and practice of Danielle Strickland, Salvation Army captain
• The creativity and diplomacy of Beki Bateson, director of Greenbelt

Who would you add?

One of the aims of Sophia is to increase the visibility of women in youth work, and I hope other areas of life and ministry. That's not about superficial things like profile or platform or, God forbid, fame - but about making people aware of the excellent work, the inspiring qualities, the amazing talents that Christian women are using in all areas of life so that lists like these never again lack readily available examples of women to aspire to and none of us are left hunting in the dark for role models. I think we should be talking about these women, learning their names and what they do, being inspired by them and following in their footsteps.

Yesterday General Synod voted to proceed with appointing women bishops with minimal accommodations for those clergy who are opposed to the move. Proposals for superbishops and separate structures for those who cannot accept women as bishops were rejected.

The Christian Apprentice is a three-day residential next October half-term for girls aged 14 and over to develop their leadership skills. Run by Sharon Prior, it's happening at The Shepherd's Buildings near Patingham, Wolverhampton and costs just £60 per person. Leaders are encouraged to attend with their girls to get the most out of the event, but girls can also go on their own. The event includes creative activities to increase girls' experience of leadership and teamwork, and they get individual feedback to help them develop their skills. Sharon ran this event last year and it was a huge success. There are just 16 places and it will be first come, first served, so if you are interested get in touch with Sharon: 01425 674112 or sharonprior1@btinternet.com. There are more details on our events page.

As Hillary Clinton stands down from her presidential campaign and urges her supporters to back Barack Obama, it's worth reflecting on what she's achieved, even though it wasn't the goal that she was aiming for. In her final speech on Saturday, she said that it will now be unremarkable to think that a woman can be president of the United States and that although she didn't break the glass ceiling, it now has 18 million cracks. Will it now be easier for other women to follow in her footsteps, or will she be regarded more like Margaret Thatcher - a woman who was somehow too masculine to make space for other women?

There's an interesting article in the Guardian about why there aren't more women in positions of leadership in the arts. Among the reasons offered is a lack of self-belief

Interesting stories in the news this week:

The Fatherhood Institute has launched a 12-point action plan to stop fathers from being 'shut out' of the birth of their own children. It includes provision for fathers to be able to stay overnight on maternity wards following the birth of their children so that they have more chance to bond with their newborn babies. Read the rest on their website here.

The new Spanish cabinet under Zapatero has more women ministers than men for the first time, including a female defence minister who is seven months pregnant.

Carolyn McCall, chief executive of GMG, the publisher of the Guardian newspaper, has been named Veuve Clicquot business woman of the year 2008.

The award was created to commemorate Veuve Clicquot, the woman who inherited the champagne company which now bears her name. She was born Nicole Ponsardin and maried Francois Cicquot, becoming known as Veuve Clicquot after his death. When she was 27, she took over her husband's vineyards and invented a system for clarifying wine which is still used by champagne producers today.

This is the 35th year of the award which annually tells the story of five women who are high achievers in business. The award website explains: 'Their stories are an encouragement and inspiration to younger, aspiring women. It salutes the women of achievement -many of whom work quietly and without acclaim in the many different businesses and industries that contribute to the economic life of this country.'

More comments in the press today about women in leadership. Sir Alan reckons that employers should be able to ask women about their plans to have children and whether they have provision for childcare worked out. He says in The Times today, ‘Be under no illusion. There are women employers who are more ruthless than men. Women employers think about the point more than men do. They are more conscious of not employing other women because they feel they're not going to get the value of work out of them. I think it's right for women to be asked the question and I think it's right for women to volunteer the information ... companies have no divine duty to help with childcare. Companies employ people. It's the Government's responsibility to provide childcare. You pay a person a salary and they cut their cloth accordingly.’

David Cameron recently caused a stir by pledging to give a third of the jobs in his first government to women. Critics have pointed out the potential for talented men to be denied jobs while less-able women would be promoted ahead of them. Ann Widdecombe said she would have been 'grossly insulted' to be promoted on such grounds, implying that jobs should be allocated on merit alone.

I wonder what they make of the new law in Norway that requires companies to appoint women to 40% of their non-executive board directorships. In 2002, only 7.1% of non-executive directors in Norway were female. The government introduced the 40% quota as a voluntary measure initially, but when that didn’t bring sufficient change quickly enough they made it compulsory. The twelve ASAs - publicly-listed companies over a certain size - who had not complied by the February deadline now face being dissolved unless they appoint women to their boards.

Interesting interview with Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland, this week in the Guardian. She talks about the way that women lead and her hopes that the current generation of female heads of state can model a different kind of female leadership through the Council of Women World Leaders.