Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 36:3 (Summer 2022)
Article: Book Review "Buried Talents: Overcoming Gendered Socialization To Answer God’s Call" By Susan Harris Howell (IVP Academic, 2022)
Author: Susan E. Mahaffey

Book Review
Buried Talents: Overcoming Gendered Socialization To Answer God’s Call
By Susan Harris Howell (IVP Academic, 2022)

Susan E. Mahaffey

Susan Mahaffey is pursuing a bachelor of social work at Milligan University in eastern Tennessee and plans to enroll in graduate school as well. She has been an active volunteer in various settings and is currently a youth ministry intern in the Nashville area.

Many churches and denominations welcome, and even advocate for, women in positions of church leadership. However, even in egalitarian churches, women remain underrepresented in these positions as well as in other traditionally male fields and roles to which God may be calling them. Dr. Susan Harris Howell, professor of psychology at Campbellsville University in central Kentucky, contends that the reason for this has not only to do with whether the church or organization approves of women in leadership positions, but also the ways women and men internalize implicit messages about gender roles. Usually unintentionally, bearers of such messages often communicate to women that they are better suited for childcare and service roles while men are better suited for leadership roles. These messages drive men toward male-dominated roles and women away from them, hindering women from fulfilling God’s call for their lives.

Howell structures her argument in three sections. First, she outlines the ways that well-meaning caregivers, friends, and other influential forces articulate different roles for men and women in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. From the toys that parents pick out for their children, to the way teachers discuss math grades with their students, to the interview process for employment, the people and world around us subtly direct women and men toward certain interests and abilities. Specifically, they direct women toward caring for children, maintaining a household, and supporting the calling of their husbands rather than pursuing career or ministry goals to follow their own calling.

In the second section, Howell illustrates her argument through the stories of two people, Sarah and Michael. Both discern a call to ministry, specifically preaching, but the implicit messages they receive from those around them drive them toward very different outcomes. Sarah encounters barriers to her calling and instead makes decisions to accommodate her husband and family. Michael pursues his calling and provides for his wife and family through his career. While both are fictional, these characters encounter realities that men and women experience every day as they navigate their callings in the society that is socializing them.

In the final section, Howell suggests strategies for both men and women to critically evaluate the messages they have received and replace them w...