Reframing Diversity and Inclusion as Catholic Women
“Human persons are willed by God; they are imprinted with God's image. Their dignity does not come from the work they do, but from the persons they are” (St. John Paul II).
A few weeks ago, I attended a diversity and inclusion training. I was eager to hear what the facilitator had to say, hoping I’d gain some nuggets of insight to bring into my writing as well as my workplaces. While the facilitator was an engaging speaker and seemed to be a genuinely caring person, the nuggets I gleaned didn’t come from her. Rather, they came from a mixture of conversations with trusted friends and family; research and articles I’ve read; and, most importantly, lessons I’ve learned from the Church.
Throughout that morning session, one word kept entering my mind, seemingly unbidden: dignity. As the facilitator spoke about unconscious bias, it occurred to me that we would not need to talk about unconscious bias if we could remember that each person “is made in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27). We would not need to learn how both to embrace and respect differences while acknowledging equality if we could remember that “as a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12). We would not need to address inequities if we could remember that “excessive economic and social disparity between individuals and peoples of the one human race is a source of scandal and militates against social justice, equity, human dignity, as well as social and international peace” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1938).
Diversity in a Fallen World
Maybe, if Adam and Eve had never sinned, if we still lived in an Eden, we would be able to remember those truths. But we must live in the world we were born into, not the world we wish we had. We have a natural diversity of persons without a corresponding natural inclination toward embracing them. We look for what is familiar, hold tight what is known, and reject or fear what is different.
As Catholics, and perhaps especially as women, we know this truth. We have a responsibility to examine our own biases and help others do the same. But it means going beyond lip service. It means going beyond politics. It means thinking of “diversity and inclusion” as a natural part of the Christian life rather than a corporate buzzword.
The Dignity of Each Colleague, Customer, and Partner
As I sat in that diversity and inclusion workshop, I realized that it all comes down to that other “d” word: dignity. When we see each other as human beings, created and loved by God and with the inherent value that comes from being made in His likeness, diversity can become a non-issue — something to embrace and encourage rather than fear.
“The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society,” states the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). As a micro-society, our businesses, organizations, and institutions must, therefore, also be founded on the dignity of the human person.
The USCCB continues, “We believe that every person is precious, that people are more important than things, and that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person.”
The measure of your business — whether you’re an entry-level employee just out of college or a senior executive with decision-making power — is its ability to enhance (or not) of the life and dignity of the human person. No matter how profitable your business is (and there’s evidence to suggest that “doing the right thing” is profitable), the metric that matters most is the extent to which it honors the dignity of every employee, every customer, every prospect, every partner — every person who comes into contact with it.
Level Up Your Leadership: Putting It Into Practice
Authentic Catholic female leadership means leading the way in valuing human dignity. It means demonstrating, in whatever role you play at your organization, that you respect each person you interact with as a child of God. (It means demonstrating that you respect yourself, too!)
The following tips are for just a few organizational roles, but regardless of your career or current position, I encourage you to read them over anyway. Reflecting on these questions can help you keep human dignity in mind in all your interactions and relationships at work. You may find, over time, that diversity and inclusion naturally follow.
Consider these questions if you work in sales:
Do I ask questions and try to understand my prospects’ and customers’ needs, or do I try to push a product or service to them, regardless of whether it fits?
Do I seek to build relationships or to get a quick sale?
After I’ve closed a deal, do I follow up with my customer to make sure he or she is satisfied?
Consider these questions if you work in management:
Do I have ongoing coaching conversations with my employees to get to know them and help them grow, or do I wait for an annual review and just “check the box”?
When I consider job candidates, do I make quick assumptions based on their names, skin color, gender, disability or other physical characteristic?
Do I encourage my employees to seek development opportunities, or do I deny them education or special assignments out of a fear that they will leave?
Do I assign high-profile projects to diverse groups of people, or do I tend to (even inadvertently) assign them only to the employees who remind me of myself?
Consider these questions if you work in technology:
Do I consider the needs and difficulties of diverse users when I create products?
Do I support and encourage the advancement of talented women, people of color, people with disabilities and other underrepresented groups?
Do I help make my organization an inclusive place to work by supporting a healthy work-life blend, flexible scheduling, and other family-friendly policies?
In 1980, author Madeleine L’Engle wrote, “It seems that more than ever the compulsion today is to identify, to reduce someone to what is on the label. To identify is to control, to limit. To love is to call by name and so to open the wide gates of creativity” (“Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith & Art”).
In 2019, this compulsion is more widespread than ever. But it’s also clear that as business leaders, as women, and — most importantly — as Catholics, we must look past those labels. We must call by name. And we must love.
Taryn Oesch is the managing editor of Catholic Women in Business and a contributing writer and assistant editor at FemCatholic.com. An active volunteer, Taryn is the board secretary and communications chair at The Power of the Dream, a head coach at Miracle League of the Triangle, and a volunteer at Birthchoice of Wake County. You can follow Taryn on Twitter; on Instagram; on Facebook; and on her blog, Everyday Roses.