"Of course, this is a problem for the Catholic Church which won't allow the ordination of women and homosexuals"

Not sure about the Ebglish legislation. But in most countries, where it exists, exemptions are made for valid reasons....for example priests, ministers etc.
But, the reason must ve significant to be valid (possibly not the person answering the phone).

I recall a case in Canada, where a historic fort refused to employ a black person as a uniformed guard for toiurist visits, stating it was not historically accurate, since blacks were not in the Military based in Canada at that point in colonial history. The reason was not viewed as significant or reasonable and the fort was required to rmploy the black person...with no future complaints from tourists.