Don Johnson

Paul never claims to be one of the 12.

Someone today might have a vision or Paul-like experience and see Jesus and become an apostle but that does not mean they are one of the 12.

I do not see it as wrong for the first 7 deacons to be all male.  What they are is all Greek speaking Jews, in contrast to Aramaic/Hebrew speaking Jews, so this was an expansion of the leadership ministry, esp. as some went on to greater ministry.  And they were involved in physical labor, not that women cannot do that, but there might have been practical considerations. Another way to see it is that progressive revelation was continuing and did so until the NT books were all written.