Author Katelyn Beaty spoke to women about leadership and finding their calling during the Woman's Place Lunch & Learn event on Sept. 26.
Women from across Northwest Arkansas packed the Community Building for the Woman's Place Lunch & Learn event, sponsored by DaySpring Cards. John Brown University, Cobb-Vantress and Northwest Health also contributed to open the event to the public.
Beaty is the author of "A Woman's Place; a Christian Vision for Your Calling in the Office, the Home, and the World," and an editor at large of Christianity Today. During her nine years at the publication, Beauty co-founded the blog Her.memeutics and became the youngest person and first female to hold the title of print editor. Beaty has also written for publications such as the New York Times, The Washington Post and The Atlantic.
Beaty spoke about the challenges that women face in the workplace, and the lies they often tell themselves, such as imposter syndrome or sideline syndrome, the scourge of perfectionism and the tendency for women to compete with one another rather than empower their female coworkers.
Beaty told women that they are made in God's image and all their gifts come from him.
"You're not only needed, you are made to reign... whether that reigning is in the boardroom, in the coffee shop, or at home, whether we are reigning over the mess in the kitchen, we are tapping into what it means to bear the image of God. God reigns, and as his image bearers we are made to reign," she said.
After the event, Beaty said she hoped the biggest message that women took home is that they are not alone.
"I want all women to find strength among each other," she said. "I think there really is power when women decide to work together instead of separately and I think that can happen in a community or a church or a workplace. Especially women leaders who are in a male dominated environment, you are going to feel that sense of being alone, so I want to alleviate that for women."
As a Christian, Beaty said she also wants women to understand their capacity as image bearers of God, which includes the capacity to lead.
"Simply because we are image bearers, we are called to lead in some capacity," she said.
The lunch and learn event grew from DaySpring Cards' Women's Leadership Forum, according to Kim Marquette, brand manager for the company and co-leader of the forum.
The forum began meeting two years ago, after CEO James Barnett started a conversation about what DaySpring could do to develop more women for leadership positions in the company, Marquette said. She noted that 70 percent of DaySprings' employees are female. The forum is a team of eight women who looked for ways to educate, encourage and empower other women for leadership, she said.
"We decided if we can lead out, we can change a lot of things," she said.
The committee began with a survey of the women in the company to see what their needs were, and began meeting those needs by hosting events such as a networking breakfast so women could get to better know their coworkers, a recognition breakfast to applaud women for their achievements and a book club. In the book club, they read Beaty's book "A Woman's Place," Marquette said.
"We said, 'Wow, what would happen if we brought her in and (had) her speak to the women of the community in Siloam,'" Marquette said.
Over the past year and a half, the leadership has also continued with a mentoring program and brought several other speakers in to present to employees. They recently completed another survey, which revealed a double digit change, Marquette said.
Marquette is hopeful DaySpring's Women's Leadership Forum will inspire other companies to follow suit.
Beaty said she had dinner with some of the women on the forum while visiting Siloam Springs. She said it is her understanding the forum started a conversation about women in leadership and is creating real results.
"I'm really impressed by their vision," she said.
More information about Beaty is available on her website, www.katelynbeaty.com.
General News on 10/04/2018