Women in the Church

I'm going to touch on a topic that seems to elicit strong feels from both sides of the table, but the middle ground that allows for active involvement for all women faithful to the teachings of the Church is avoided. So far, it seems like woman are either delegated to the altar or women's clubs or viewed as want to be priests when they desire to use their full intellect, skills, and passions to help the Church. I do not want to be a priest and I submit to Church teachings that women cannot be priests. Having said this, you don't want me in the altar club ironing or hemming linens for the Church, trust me. There is a reason why my dry cleaner and seamstress love me. The current direction of the average women's club does not interest me as I am not a follower or share the interests of most of the women attending these meetings or book clubs. Not to even begin to insinuate other women are lacking intellectually, but I am highly intellectual something that very few fail to realize after even a brief meeting with me. I dig into topics and issues with passion and depth that the average person has no interest in doing. However, when I step forward to use my analytical skills, intelligence, or public speaking abilities by being a lay leader of a group, certain priests and lay people leave me with the taste in my mouth that I am trying to be "miss priest". How do we bridge the gap between these groups, and there is a real gap here, that will allow for active involvement in parish life by all men and women without suspicion or to unduly prove oneself (e.g., the attitude I'm not going to really get to know my parishioner, but this parishioner, especially since she is a woman, is already suspect due to x,y,z)?