Less than one in ten Christian charities are led by women chief executives, and only around one in six have women as chairs. Why does this gender gap exist in a sector where around two-thirds of the workforce are women?

That's the question addressed by Carnelian, a specialist executive search service that works with many Christians organisations, helping them find key members of staff. They have just published their findings.

Researchers interviewed 23 senior women in Christian organisations, asking them about their individual experiences. They were asked to "reflect on their journeys to leadership, the challenges they may or may not have faced, the unique opportunities given to them, and whether they viewed leadership through a gendered lens."

Themes identified in the research included: the importance of intentionality in identifying and developing female leaders; that men could play a vital role in encouraging Christian women's careers; the complexities faced by mothers in leadership roles; the importance of flexibility in the workplace; and the role played by 'subtle discrimination.'

There can also be examples where "theological views in the Christian sector" have resulted in fewer opportunities for women to hold positions of leadership. Comments received from women interviewed for the research included: "There's a theological thread in Christian mission that means men don't quite fully accept you as a full leader" and "I hadn't appreciated that some in the Christian world didn't want women in leadership overall, not just in the church."

Coming out of the newly-published research, the report 'Female Leaders in the UK Christian Charity Sector' makes four key recommendations, which are aimed at giving greater opportunity to women in leadership.

The recommendations are:

Start a Conversation

The report authors state: "Not all women will view their career through the lens of their sex, but senior leaders and teams should be attentive to the fact that many will." The report encourages organisations to have "open conversations" about the topic on boards and senior leadership teams.

Invest in training

Senior leaders, say Carnelian, "should be intentional in training and upskilling both women and men on boards and executive teams, particularly in building confidence." This could include mentoring schemes with a focus on developing younger women in the workforce.

Establish good policies and practices

Identify what the barriers to leadership might be for women, whether parenting or working multiple jobs, and implement positive policies to address these. The report says that an organisation's systems "do not need to be totally redesigned for women, but should be critically examined with women in mind." The report also calls for an organisation's 'cultural practices' to be examined.

Have good recruitment practices in place

Ensure that an organisation's recruitment practices attract higher number of excellent applicants and a more diverse selection of candidates.

The paper concludes "One of the greatest skills of a leader is to nurture those who have potential, raising them up to succeed and surpass you. Organisations which think deeply about the development of their talent, female and male, are those that are best-positioned to grow, adapt and succeed."

Rev Peter Crumpler is a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts, UK and a former communications director with the CofE.