One year since first female Archbishop of Canterbury announced
Dame Sarah Mullally was announced as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury this time a year ago
A year has passed since Dame Sarah Mullally took on the historic role of Archbishop of Canterbury, becoming the first woman to lead the Church of England in its long history.
Dame Sarah was named as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury following Justin Welby's resignation over his handling of an abuse scandal, and was legally confirmed in January 2026 with a subsequent enthronement in March.
Her appointment marked a significant milestone for the Church and has raised discussions about the evolving role of women in religious leadership.
Speaking to Hits and Greatest Hits Radio, religious affairs journalist Abigail Frymann Rouch said the announcement was a 'new hope' for the church:
"The announcement of Dame Sarah ended that period of uncertainty between archbishops and was a moment of new hope.
"Like 'oh, here's a leader who can sort of see us out of this place that we've got ourselves in.'
" Certainly quite an exciting chapter, about a woman being given the honour of leading this historic institution, which she seemed to just step into with great calmness."
Despite initial resistance from some factions within the Church that oppose women's ordination, Dame Sarah has made strides in maintaining cohesion and improving safeguarding measures.
A notable change under her leadership has been challenging cultural practices within the Church, focusing on inclusivity and collaboration, an achievement highlighted during her previous tenure as Bishop of London.
Now six months into her role and a year after the announcement, Frymann Rouch added that there seems to be less focus on her gender, and more interest in her decision making:
"The sight of women in leadership in Britain is so much more common than it was 2 generations ago. There's been a huge shift on that. Internationally, it is a different picture."
One recent example being how she handled the issue of an award that was later rescinded:
"One member of clergy I was talking to this morning said, he thinks in a way her gender has become a bit secondary. People are now just looking to her for her competence rather than her gender.
"In the recent story about the award being given to the Muslim scholar, and the award was later withdrawn after certain comments came to light, nobody was linking her competence to her gender. It was just simply a question of what she as a leader should or shouldn't have known.
"So that is interesting in itself. But I think generally as a nation, you know, we are just used to women in senior roles. "