CHALLENGING PROBLEM RELATED TO HIGHER EDUCATION
Women have been facing a lot of challenges towards achieving their dream of higher education. According to Dahlvig and Longman (2016), “Historically, the worldview of evangelicals has reflected what Gallagher described as a “hierarchically ordered universe.” The implications of this worldview on both individuals and organizational cultures add complexities as women navigate the labyrinth of leadership.” The worldview always sees the male gender as superior, therefore affecting the dreams of many women who have the urge to be involved in professional and leadership development programs.
The Bible is considered to be the cause of a massive gap between male and female professional development. According to Dahlvig and Longman (2016), the existence of the distinctive leadership challenges that women who hold evangelical worldview and those within the evangelical environment face is because of the evangelical perspectives. They face challenges because they believe what is said by the evangelical systems.
When a woman grows in a society where he believes that she should work under the authority of men (Packer & Parrett, 2010), it is hard for her to go for better opportunities to be critical in her leadership and education growth. They dwell in the evangelical teachings they get, training them on how to be submissive to their husbands (Packer & Parrett, 2010). Instead of how to be dependent and fight for their right to leadership and to better their education.
The complementarian view has been the major challenge affecting the development of women’s education and leadership (Dahlvig & Longman, 2016). The complementarian believes that men hold authority over women. Their view has an inclusion of spiritual responsibility and family leadership. The perspectives complementarians can be linked to the information in the Bible (Dahlvig & Longman, 2016). In Genesis 2:18 – New King James Version, “And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” The verse gives an imagery of women being inferior that man (Holder, 2018). It also states that God decided to create a woman to become a helper of man. Therefore it always believed that men should have authority over women (Holder, 2018).
Dahlvig and Longman (2016) investigate national research done on CCCU institutions, where 1,900 facilities participated. It based on the “worldview and its influence on women’s experience within higher education.” The study showed a high magnitude of gender polarization and gender inequalities on CCCU campuses. The research clearly shows the existence of gender inequality in Christian institutions. It can be linked to the believes that Christians have based on the information they gather from the Bible.
In conclusion, the challenges women face towards furthering their education and being leaders can be linked to the existence of teachings from the Bible that consider women as less than men. The complementarian view affects the growth of women by considering men to be those who possess authority. Therefore, creating a society that believes in a complementarian view.
References
Dahlvig, J. E., & Longman, K. A. (2016). Influences of an evangelical Christian worldview on women’s leadership development. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 18(2), 243-259.
Holder, S. (2018). 024. Genesis 2: 18-25.
Packer, J. I., & Parrett, G. A. (2010). Grounded in the gospel: Building believers the old-fashioned way. Baker Books.