“One can even say that the development of the feminine nature can become a blessed counterbalance precisely here where everyone is in danger of becoming mechanized and losing his humanity.”
St Edith Stein, The Ethos of Women’s Professions
After the death of her father when she was an infant, St Edith’s mother took over the family lumbar businesses and served as breadwinner for the household, in addition to caring for her children and ensuring their education. What’s more, she was regarded by many in the community as the best in the business. With that in mind, the idea of women in the workforce was not a foreign concept to St Edith by any means, regardless of the type of business in question.
St Edith Stein was adamantly against defining the so-called “feminine profession.” A woman’s unique talents and interests are the best means of determining her ideal profession. However, there are some professions which are a more natural fit for the unique attributes of the female soul. Some obvious examples include nursing, childcare, teaching, social services; anything that directly involves service to others. However, as we see every day, women can take on any type of work and bring valuable contributions with them.
St Edith noted that “the development of the feminine nature can become a blessed counterbalance precisely here where everyone is in danger of becoming mechanized and losing his humanity.” And how does woman do that? By seeing the human need in her work and adjusting the means to serve the end more effectively. There is no product or service that does not serve people at its end.
When we feel uninspired in our work, if we can step back and see the bigger picture and understand how our work serves others, we can always find purpose. While we can’t expect to feel inspired every moment of our workdays, we can find ways to bring our natural feminine abilities to work with us. If we can’t improve our work, we can always improve our workplace, even if we can show care and understanding to just one person.
It is so important that we bring who we are into our careers. Women have brought massive changes to the workplace by bringing a focus to both workers and customers. It’s also important to note that in an era where we see one corporate scandal after another, we need to bring our faith with us into the workplace. If we live our careers based on what Jesus expects of us, rather than what we can get away with in the corporate world, we can create a higher ethical standard.
Again, we can look to Mary as an example. At the Wedding of Cana, she sees the human need. Running out of wine is not the problem; the embarrassment and scandal it will cause is. She does not draw attention to herself but determines the solution and quietly provides instructions to the servants. This is the example we should look to in our professional lives.
As St Edith so famously said, "The world doesn't need what women have, the world needs what women are."
Questions for further reflection
- How does my job serve others?
- How do I draw attention to my accomplishments at work? How can I be more like Mary, working quietly without expecting recognition?