The glass ceiling exists many places, even in the Church, according to a local woman in ministry.

"It's a stained glass ceiling in the Church, of course," Rachel Twigg Boyce said with a chuckle. She says that she's had a mix of experiences as a woman in ministry ever since she was a teenager.

She's currently a pastoral associate at St. Benedict's Table, an Anglican church in Winnipeg, as well as a retreat leader and spiritual director. To her, there's no difference between men and women when it comes to being called to ministry.

“Women are just like men who love God, just want to serve God and follow Jesus and do what they’re called to do, and use the gifts that they’re wired up to do," Twigg Boyce says.

"When I've been able to do the work that I feel called to do, it's been a beautiful thing."

However, she says, that when women seek to move forward in using those giftings, they may often experience that the same opportunities aren't there for them, citing a conference she attended last year as an example. "There was a conference last year, and it was filled with all white, male speakers." She says when she asked organizers of the conference why that was the case they said they simply didn't know any women or minorities that would be a good fit.

That's typical of her experience over the years, though she's also quick to point out there's been plenty of spaces that welcomed her as well.

"When I've been able to do the work that I feel called to do, it's been a beautiful thing. And when people have seen me and taken the time to listen and made the space to allow me to do those things, it's been a wonderful thing."

Twigg Boyce says while she was in high school, she had a pastor who encouraged her in her giftings, even though her church’s tradition did not believe that women could be elders or pastors.

“He saw something and encouraged me in it. When I was 15 we co-preached a sermon together. He did half and I did half. That was his idea - I didn’t ask for that. From there the pieces kept coming. I kept showing up and being myself, and people noticed.”

She says that women, whether young or old, seeking to enter into ministry should find a mentor like her high school pastor. "Get someone who is in your corner. A mentor, a spiritual director, somebody that you can talk to . . . and just keep going."