Women and Free Labor: How They Built the Church That Broke Them
11/26 UPDATE: NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN! FILL OUT THE FORM HERE:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/13V9Jc00TzYWf5GWB0SweOwHemKaL8uIPWSyyFqtjVrc/edit
I’m not known for potentially polarizing statements unless there is a forum for open dialogue and conversation. I don’t attempt to live in a vacuum, or in a world of binaries. However, I also believe that silence almost never serves the ones who are in need. And there are certain things that I am unafraid to say are wrong.
The way that evangelical systems have conditioned women over the years to doubt their own personal and professional worth and value is undoubtedly one of them.
Before I dive into the details of what I mean, I want to address the following:
I know that those who identify as women are not the only humans who have been marginalized and devalued in this way by the evangelical church system. I default to those who have those lived experiences to speak to them. I amplify their stories whenever I can, and am still learning how better to be a neighbor.
I have been fortunate in my life to have many strong women examples in religious leadership and positions of authority who have afforded me the ability to call out bull when I see it.
Value Messaging
Women like me who were raised in a fundamental, evangelical system were led to believe either by verbal instruction, implication or inference, or modeling behavior/behavior management, 5 Major Value Messaging Principles:
We are without worth and/or value on our own without being tethered to a male ( either a Father or a husband).
Our bodies don’t belong to us, are not to be trusted, and our virginity was a gift to be given.
We would be humored, but we didn’t have a voice or a seat at the table where the real decisions were made.
Whatever gifting, services, education, or experiences we had should be freely offered- NOT compensated. Certainly not financially.
We were not permitted to lead men in any capacity; some of us were used as examples of the illusion of, “progression”. We were given the corner, never the floor.
The conditioning was as subtle as it was loud which has left us with generations of women who have martyred their worth to a system built upon decades of their free labor.
I’d like to take some of it back.
I know too many women who have been broken by the internalization of this kind of messaging. Women who have given their everything, and have ended up with nothing. Women with years of experience in:
Organizational leadership
Operations
Marketing and Communications
Human Resources
Payroll and Book Keeping
Conflict and Change Management
Program and Curriculum Development
Education
Event Planning
Buildings and Grounds
Spiritual Care
Women who have “worked” 60-plus hours a week either for free or for a salary that no one could afford to live on ( especially not if you live close to either coast) who are now faced with physical circumstances such as financial insecurity, divorce or loss, housing or food insecurity, not to mention the emotional and mental repercussions that require healing and therapy.
What Can I Do?
I’m not a therapist, theologian, or politician. Not yet, anyway.
What I am is an experienced writer, educator, and leader with a full portfolio of professional experience, specifically equipped to help women who are facing the unknown after a long history of harmful value messaging.
What Can YOU Do?
From now until the end of 2022, I’ll be accepting sponsorships for 10 women at a seriously discounted rate who require the following but have been unable to move forward from their past.
Career Transition Consulting: 1 hour, 50.00
It’s hard to know what field you might be qualified in, after a lifetime of ministerial and/or volunteer work, child-rearing, or any other position, “not on the books”. As outlined above, we’re so much more qualified than we think. Sponsor a woman who feels lost in the search to get some clarity on what professional direction best fits her experience.
Project Ideation and Development Outline: 150.00
Sometimes a conventional position doesn’t feel like the best fit, or it’s simply not what someone is looking for. Sponsor a woman who has been sitting on an idea for a business, a project, a creative endeavor- but hasn’t been able to take the first steps to make them a reality. Two meetings and a written outline proposal provide tangible proof that her ideas and stories matter.
Professional Paperwork Portfolio: 300.00
The rules surrounding resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile copywriting change all the time, but all three are necessary in order to pursue a future that every woman deserves. A one-page resume, a cover letter template, and copy for a current LinkedIn account in addition to a one-hour meeting are included, in addition to salary comps provided by an HR professional.
How You Can Help
From now until December 31, 2022 I’ll be accepting sponsorships via Venmo. If you would like to sponsor a woman in the new year, this is all you have to do:
Select the number of the package you’d like to sponsor above.
Type the amount to be paid in Venmo.
Write: Take It Back Sponsorship, # (insert number here) in the memo so I know what it’s for.
That’s it!
Nominations
In the next two weeks, I’ll be sending out information concerning nominations! All nominations are anonymous; If you know of a woman who is in need of these kinds of services, nominate away. I only have ten spots open in order to ensure the appropriate attention and dedication every woman deserves and nominations are first come, first serve so be on the lookout.
Thank you for allowing me access to your inbox. I don’t take the privilege lightly. The title of the Newsletter, “Eat My Words,” came from my last few years of re-constructing my own value and worth and faith and belief systems. It means so much to me to be able to offer something I wish someone had extended to me.