Austrian journalist Gudrun Sailer said that: "There is a fresh wind blowing in the Vatican as far as women's concerns are concerned."
She told the Association of Catholic Publicists in Austria on a visit to Vienna that the 'Francis effect' is being felt throughout.
Gudrun Sailer continued, saying the role of women in the Church is one of a number of 'construction sites' Francis has opened up in the Vatican.
She said that despite the pontiff not being able to give any concrete answers, he had already "done more than any other Pope" when it came to women, according to The Tablet.
She mentioned that one of his key features was to encourage the Church to push forward "rather than aim at a final clarification".
Around 750 women work in the Vatican, meaning around one fifth of all employees are female: "And they are not doing the cleaning jobs - those are done by men. Most of the women are academics," she said.
There are large number of women working as art historians, office heads and journalists as well as archivists.
