No, Being Asked to Include Women Isn't "Token"

We need the feminine genius ♀

I recently had a conversation with a friend about a mutual acquaintance’s non-profit and it’s all-male board of directors.

“What they really need,” my friend pointed out, “is a woman to go in there and help them out. It’s too much male ego.”

It got me thinking about all-male spaces, and all-male leadership teams, and all-male executive boards. It got me thinking about our very own church. And it got me thinking about the popular claim that putting a woman on “just to have a woman there” is some pathetic act of tokenism.

As Pope Francis increases the number of women involved in church leadership, I’ve seen and heard friends pooh-pooh his actions in a similar manner. Why does your body affect how good you would be at a job? Shouldn’t we just hire whoever would be best for the position? Isn’t it insulting to have a “token” woman on a leadership team?