Strengthening Sisters: How Latter‐day Saint Missionary Service Prepares Women for Leadership

Abstract

Women, especially those from highly religious societies, are underrepresented in professional and civic leadership positions. Considering how women's life experiences, especially from religious volunteer opportunities, can be reframed as training for broader leadership roles could help address this disparity. The potential for women to learn leadership skills from volunteer religious service is an overlooked, but possibly important, means of transferability to larger leadership roles. The current article describes a qualitative study of women's perceptions of leadership skills gained while serving as full‐time volunteer missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‐day Saints during young adulthood. Respondents described perceptions of leadership skills developed throughout missions as well as perceptions about how they are currently using these skills. Findings suggest many women perceived growth in leadership skills from missionary service, especially in the areas of interpersonal interactions and relationships, although they reported currently utilizing skills more in church and family roles rather than professional or civic ones. The study is discussed in the context of literature related to gender and types of leadership approaches, as well as Relational‐Cultural Theory. Implications for facilitating respondents' post‐mission skill transfer to future leadership roles are presented. Larger scale applications for women's leadership development are also considered.