International Women’s Day​ - International Survey of Catholic Women

International Women’s Day - International Survey of Catholic Women (ISCW)

In the recent Marist Schools Australia newsletter, Director, Dr Frank Malloy, drew attention to the recently published report of the International Survey of Catholic Women. This is considered to be the largest ever survey of Catholic women in history with 17,200 respondents from 104 countries and in 8 languages - English, Spanish, German, Italian, French, Polish, Mandarin, and Portuguese. The survey was available from 8 March 2022 – 26 April 2022.

Professor Tina Beattie and Australian researchers Tracey McEwan, Kathleen Phillips and Miriam Pepper conducted the survey.

The report, entitled Catholic Women Speak, is to be presented to the Vatican as a submission towards the Synod on Synodality, 2023 -24.

The following points are from the Executive summary:

The overall aim of the ISCW was to gather feedback for the Synod on the experiences and insights of Catholic women from around the world. Topics included Catholic identity, significant issues of concern and views on church reform, and the impact of COVID-19 on women’s faith and practice.

The ISCW is a significant and unique resource for the Synod in its aim to listen to diverse voices to better discern what it means to “journey together” as the People of God in a Church of many cultures.

An important insight to be drawn from the survey is that Catholic women do not constitute a homogenous group but reflect the many different cultural and communal contexts within which their faith is experienced and practiced.

The first major finding of the ISCW is that even when women have considerable struggles with Catholic institutions and structures, their Catholic identity is very important to them.

A second major finding is that most Catholic women welcome reform in the Catholic Church.

A third major finding is that respondents identified the sexual, physical, and emotional abuse of women, children, and other vulnerable people as a dominant issue.

A final major finding is that Catholic women are deeply concerned about transparency and accountability in church leadership and governance.

The full report can be accessed at: Catholic Women Speak

Of interest might be the interview with study author, Dr Kathleen McPhillips on Radio National, Religion and Ethics Report.

Peter Hawes
Assistant Head of School – Mission and Identity