By Maggie Garnett

In 2020, more women were at the helm of Fortune 500 companies than ever before, but they only represented 8% of leadership roles in these companies. Just 41 of these organizations claimed female CEOs, while men headed 459 companies. Women currently outpace men in earning bachelor’s and advanced degrees and held 51.8% of all management occupations in 2019. As women continue to chart paths for themselves in the world of business, it is important to ask: Is the business world welcoming them? What does the feminine genius have to offer business, and what work must be done to create space for that genius to flourish? To begin to answer these questions, and to find a community of support, aspiring female entrepreneurs can look to women-run organizations like the GIVEN institute and RINGLET.

Defining the Feminine Genius

St. John Paul II preached powerfully and frequently about the dignity of women and the gift that they offer in every state of life. He wrote in his 1995 “Letter to Women”:

Thank you, women who work! You are present and active in every area of life––social, economic, cultural, artistic and political. In this way you make an indispensable contribution to the growth of a culture which unites reason and feeling, to a model of life ever open to the sense of ‘mystery,’ to the establishment of economic and political structures ever more worthy of humanity.

The world, he wrote in his apostolic letter “Mulieris Dignitatem,” hungers for the full manifestation of the feminine genius which belongs to women. He believed their genius is uniquely capable of bringing sensitivity, generosity and receptivity to a society in profound need. When allowed to flourish, a woman’s life and love is a gift to whomever she is called to serve, be it her family, her community or her company.

GIVEN: Cultivating the Feminine Genius

How can the feminine genius establish business structures more worthy of humanity, and what gifts do women of faith bring to their place of work? As more women seek answers to these important questions, organizations and businesses have arisen to respond to the challenges and opportunities presented.

Founded by the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious (CMSWR) in 2016, the GIVEN Forum seeks to serve young women who desire to place their gifts at the service of the world. Executive Director Rachel Harkins Ullmann says:

"There is a need in the Church for young adult women to receive dedicated mentoring and to receive practical skills training for their leadership capabilities."

Rachel continues, "So that whatever their vocation, state of life or profession, they know that they can be Catholic female leaders and that they have a woman leader who can accompany them in their pursuit of those possibilities."

GIVEN meets this need primarily through their five-day leadership training and faith formation event each summer, but the organization also offers opportunities for local gatherings and online engagement. With a three-pronged vision of receiving the gift that a woman is, realizing the gifts she’s been given and responding with the gift that only she can give, the Forum works to build meaningful mentorship relationships between emerging and established Catholic women leaders.

“It’s really important for young women to have living, breathing examples of true dignity and Catholic female leadership in mentors that they can actually pick up the phone and call,” Rachel explains.

The feminine genius exalted by leaders like St. John Paul II does not present a threat to established male leaders, Rachel also emphasizes. “Embracing the feminine genius truly complements the masculine genius,” she explains. Women are uniquely suited with the courage and vulnerability necessary to thrive as successful people in business. The world needs to recognize and embrace this truth, and confident and called women should use their gifts to serve others. “No one else is going to do it for you,” Rachel concludes. “You have to step up as the servant-leader...using your gifts for the other.”

RINGLET: Empowering Women Entrepreneurs

Elise Crawford Gallagher, founder and CEO of RINGLET and co-founder of Catholic Women in Business, provides resources and support for women stepping up and stepping out into the world of entrepreneurship.

A page from the layout of this article in VIGIL Issue Four

Also founded in 2016, RINGLET began from a desire to provide an affordable and accessible full-service marketing agency for women entrepreneurs and business owners. This agency aims to help women “to empower one another to seek their greatest potential and help their businesses become all that they can be” and offers services uniquely tailored to the needs of their female clients. “I saw that women were operating differently than men, so they needed unique services. Their needs needed to be met differently than (how) I was meeting male clients and their needs in the past,” Elise says.

In particular, RINGLET seeks to alleviate two primary lacks for women in business: educational resources and community. “It’s hard to find other business owners to collaborate with, to really understand one another and walk alongside on this journey together,” Elise explains.

RINGLET Resources, a new offering of the agency “is an online educational platform where we offer community and education for women,” Elise says. Now serving over 100 female business owners, RINGLET continues to provide on-the-ground support for women activating their gifts and pursuing the dreams placed on their hearts.

Welcoming Women into Business

Like Rachel, Elise emphasizes the importance of recognizing the feminine genius in order to welcome women into the world of business. “Our faith tells us that we’re made in the Lord’s likeness, and that likeness means that we’re both men and women and that those are different. We possess a feminine genius that is unique to our own gender,” she says. “Women in the business world, as Catholic women, are uniquely poised to recognize the dignity and beauty of other people and to cultivate their gifts and talents.”

For the young woman aspiring to enter, re-enter or explore how she is called to serve in the business world, GIVEN and RINGLET provide a framework of support and resources to help her flourish in both faith and skills as a business woman.

To learn more, visit TheGivenInstitute.com and RINGLETstudio.com.