U.S. Roman Catholicism, sometimes criticized over its all-male priesthood, reported in June that its percentage of female administrators is nearly as high as that in the general U.S. work force.
A survey commissioned by the U.S. bishops' Committee on Women in Society and in the Church said women hold 48.9 percent of administrative posts in U.S. dioceses, compared with 51 percent in the general American work force according to Bureau of Labor Statistics accounting.
The Catholic percentage during the 1999-2003 period was 48.4 percent and 46.6 percent during the previous five-year period, the survey said.