Christian women are constantly told that they cannot pursue certain careers because of their gender, a notion that is simply unbiblical. We are expected to aspire to two things in particular: marriage and motherhood. Though the desire to be a wife and a mother is absolutely legitimate and just as important as other aspirations, women should never feel guilty about having professional aspirations.

It is evident in Scripture that both male and female were created to reign over creation. My interpretation leads me to believe that this encompasses all duties, roles, jobs, and careers. Roles that are traditionally seen as masculine or feminine can end up inhibiting people from fulfilling their calling. Glancing at the male side of this spectrum, the de-feminization of the role of "nurse," for instance, has allowed many men to pursue a career that they flourish in.

Marian Wright Edelman once said, "You can’t be what you can’t see." In other words, representation is necessary to raise up a generation of motivated, successful, and diverse people. It is no surprise that since women have only been involved in Higher Education for about 200 years, many of our great grandmothers would never have thought about attending university, but the new normal is that women are exceeding their male peers both in numbers and in rate of success.

Women who are passionate about medicine can grow up to become doctors. Women who are passionate about education can become school administrators. Women who are passionate about law enforcement can become policewomen. We are strong, powerful women. We are engineers, architects, pastors, and Supreme Court judges.

We are, in 2017, suffering from what author Katelyn Beaty calls "a cultural fear of powerful women." We fear that successful women will neglect their children for their careers, that mothers will neglect their careers for their children, and that women who don't have children or are single are not fulfilling their biblical calling.

Our sexual distinction as man and woman is a blessing from God that allows us to become two parts of one whole--and to more fully bear the image of God as relational beings. These distinctions, though, place no boundaries on our abilities to pursue any specific career, nor should they inhibit us from having professional aspirations of any sort.