US Rabbinate Grows More Diverse with Rising Numbers of Women and LGBTQ+ Clergy

Reform and Conservative movements lead the way in welcoming women and LGBTQ+ rabbis, transforming the face of Jewish leadership.

Feb. 1, 2026 at 12:15pm

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The ranks of rabbis in the United States are becoming more diverse, with increasing numbers of women and LGBTQ+ people entering the rabbinate. Once a male-dominated field, the Reform and Conservative movements now allow women to become rabbis, and the growing nondenominational branch is also seeing greater diversity. Veteran women rabbis like Laura Geller have paved the way, and younger generations are seeing more women and LGBTQ+ individuals in leadership roles. However, the rabbinate still faces challenges like burnout and unsustainable expectations.

Why it matters

The diversification of the US rabbinate reflects broader changes in the Jewish community, which has become more diverse. This shift allows for a wider range of voices and perspectives to shape the future of Judaism. It also signals progress in breaking down historical barriers to marginalized groups entering the clergy.

The details

Women now make up a sizable minority of the over 4,000 non-Ultra Orthodox rabbis in the US, and there are also more LGBTQ+ people, Jews of color, and members of interfaith households entering the rabbinate. This increased diversity is especially evident in non-Orthodox rabbinical schools, where women are in the majority. Veteran women rabbis like Laura Geller, who was the only woman in her 1976 ordination class, have helped pave the way for this change. However, the rabbinate still faces challenges like burnout, unsustainable expectations, and lingering patriarchal holdovers.

  • In 1976, Laura Geller was the only woman in her ordination class at Hebrew Union College.
  • In 2011, Rabbi Rachel Isaacs became the first openly gay rabbi ordained by the Conservative seminary.

The players

Rabbi Laura Geller

One of the first women rabbis in the Jewish Reform Movement, ordained in 1976 and now rabbi emerita of Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills, California.

Janet Krasner Aronson

Interim director of the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University.

Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein

Executive director of Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation, an organization that supports and trains Jewish spiritual leaders.

Rabbi Tiferet Berenbaum

Director of congregational learning and programming at Temple Beth Zion in Brookline, Massachusetts, who is Black and has done extensive anti-racism work in the Jewish community.

Sarah Rockford

An LGBTQ+ student at the Conservative movement's Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.

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What they’re saying

“Women have transformed Judaism. All the different kinds of movements have really noticed that Judaism needs to change because women's voices were ignored in the past.”

— Rabbi Laura Geller, Rabbi emerita of Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills, California (San Francisco Chronicle)

“For a lot of the younger generation, when they think of a rabbi, many of them, in their mind, the picture is a woman. When I was growing up, when I would think of a rabbi, I'd think, man.”

— Rabbi Rebecca Weintraub, Associate rabbi of New York City's B'nai Jeshurun congregation (The New York Times)

“My Jewish experiences were pretty much all white. It was time to go into the job market, and that's when the voices really started to rise in my head: 'Who's going to hire a Black rabbi?' Not 'Who's going to hire a woman rabbi?'”

— Rabbi Tiferet Berenbaum, Director of congregational learning and programming at Temple Beth Zion in Brookline, Massachusetts (The Boston Globe)

What’s next

Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation plans to continue its research on the diversification of the US rabbinate, tracking progress and identifying ongoing challenges.

The takeaway

The growing diversity of the US rabbinate, with more women and LGBTQ+ individuals entering the clergy, represents a significant shift in the Jewish community. This change allows for a wider range of perspectives and experiences to shape the future of Judaism, but the rabbinate still faces issues like burnout and the need for greater institutional support for this new generation of diverse spiritual leaders.