The pagan polytheists religions had priestesses, such as the ones mentioned in The Bible and the greek one. An example can be found on Troy's movie, where the greek army kidnapped the niece of Troy's king, who was a priesteness of Apollo, and who ended having a romantic affair with Achilles.

The fact many of those ancient religions gave women the status of goddess, also implies it was acceptable for them to assign them religious authority in the society.

So, it's not a new phenomenon in the world to have women as religious authorities, but a rebranded one from ancient times.