CHURCH: More women and people from BAME backgrounds are being trained for ministry
RECENTLY RELEASED statistics from the Church of England have shown that an increased number of women and people from BAME backgrounds are being trained for ministry.
For the second year running, more women than men began training for ordained ministry in 2018 – with a 54 per cent majority.
Just under a third, or 30 per cent, of the estimated 20,000 active clergy in the Church of England are female, compared to 27 per cent in 2014, according to Ministry Statistics for 2018. And the number of women in senior posts has risen from 23 per cent to 25 per cent over the past year.
The proportion of people identifying as being from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who started training for ordained ministry in the church rose to eight per cent in 2018, compared to four per cent in 2016. Around a third of people beginning their training last year were under 35 and more than half were under 45.
Meanwhile, the number of men and women ordained as a deacon rose from 485 in 2016 to 535 in 2019.