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As a quarterly columnist of TwoTen Magazine, Bonnie Wurzbacher returns to offer advice to young, professional women. In the article below, she recognizes the lack of women in leadership roles as a complex, talent-development issue...

Growing up as a P.K. (Pastor's Kid) in the '60s and '70s, I had always thought a "calling" was reserved for the "full-time Christian service work" like pastors or missionaries. The rest of us simply chose other careers and served God through our work in the church! I eventually learned how wrong I was about that as I began to develop a Biblical worldview and realized that all aspects of life - including our vocations - are meant to glorify God.

I came to believe that a "calling" is determined by the intersection of our interests, our strengths and talents, and our discernment of where God is leading us. I call this "the want to, the can do and the led to" of your life. Importantly, it is also the way we can best serve God and fulfill His purposes for us and His kingdom.

Though it wasn't always so clear at the time, upon reflection, my "calling" to business followed this model. I was drawn to it and motivated to make money through creative efforts, even as a young girl. I would hold puppet shows, magic shows, perform music, sell cookies and lemonade and even hold sporting events in the neighborhood! My parents noted this regularly in our family Christmas cards! This entrepreneurial interest didn't come to an end as I grew up.

When I did, eventually, take a job in business, I was surprisingly successful in it, even early on in my career -- and without formal business training at the time. The same skills and abilities I had honed in education (the first 5 years after college) seemed easy for me to transfer to sales. And there were many times where I most definitely saw God's hand leading me in the process. So, although I certainly worked hard and put in long hours, my successes were definitely not only of my own doing.

There were a number of women in business back then and even a few in sales, like me. However, as I experienced success and my career advanced, there seemed to be fewer and fewer women as peers. At first, I didn't really think that much of it -- perhaps this was simply the case in the beverage business or at my company. But it began to nag at me. While in the first part of my business career, I didn't really see that my gender was a factor, I certainly didn't feel that way anymore. Where were all the female leaders? I began to read the research and pay more attention to those who were speaking up on the subject. The risk of being labeled a "feminist" seemed a small price to pay.

If you would like to read the rest of this article and learn more about the barriers to women holding leadership roles, subscribe to TwoTen Magazine for free here.