Why the gender imbalance in the LDS church?

[MikeWaters]

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009...-mormon-value/

According to Pew, Mormons have one of the most lopsided gender ratios of any religion: 44 percent men and 56 percent women, making it all the more important that every available man be pressed into service. The Chevy Chase ward ratio is 36 percent men to 64 percent women.

Many of the LDS men reading this are active returned-missionaries. What they may not realize is that there has been a tremendous attrition among their original cohort. Of those baptized at 8, a small percentage go to missions, temple marriage, and activity in the church.

The LDS church is undoubtedly as patriarchal as they come. Every significant leadership position in the church is occupied by men (except for Relief Society and YW). Even positions that could arguably be gender-neutral like the Sunday School Presidency, are by official policy to be presided by men. So in a church that gives the reins of power only to men, why so few men?

Perhaps the answer is in the paragraph above. So much responsibility, so many meetings, so many guilt trips--I wonder if its easy for men to say, "screw this." While capable women are called to be the secretary to the assistant visiting teacher sector 6 supervisor.

Perhaps it can be argued that a church with insatiable demands of its volunteers, disproportionately placed on men, makes the church a pretty good gig for women, but not so appealing to men.

I think we waste the talents of women in this church.

[MikeWaters]

The emphasis on missions may be another issue, as in "I didn't go on a mission, therefore I'm now a branded inferior member." "I didn't go on a mission, might as well quit."

I wonder if you look at the male members of your ward that did not go on missions--you may find that most of them are converts. Where did all the boys of the covenant that didn't go on missions go?

When you say that going on a mission is a commandment from God--well, there's really no gray area there.

Is this hypothesis has any bit of truth, you have to think that "raising the bar" and the resulting falling percentage of boys that went on missions will further increase the gender gap.

And if in fact, the gender gap is among younger single members--that doesn't bode well for women being able to marry active LDS men. Their only choice is to marry non-members or not marry at all.