Women’s theologies challenging the status quo

Abstract

The Global Gender Gap Report (GGGR) published by the World Economic Forum (2021) indicated an alarming statistic: the time it will take for the gender gap to close increased by 36 years from the time the 2020 report was published, 12 months earlier. As reported by Haynes (2021), it will take approximately 135.6 years for men and women to achieve parity on a whole range of factors globally. Haynes also indicated that the increase in time it will take to achieve parity marks the largest gain since the GGGRs started in 2006. The report examined data from 156 countries and utilised four key indicators, namely, economic opportunity, political power, education and health. What is clear even from a cursory glance, is that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the challenges faced by women globally and their marginalisation ever further. In this regard, because women face old and accumulating obstacles, a collection like this is well-positioned to provide a conversational space to highlight the diverse and interlinked challenges faced by women and the ongoing research and field work being conducted that is necessary to provide energy to tackle the current challenges. The current collection comprises ten contributions, each in a unique way highlighting the aspects related to the plurality of women’s voices and the contributions of women’s theologies.