Why would a man attend a "women’s" event? After all, that’s A LOT of estrogen in one place! But the secret’s out: Women, Work, and Calling is a powerful place for women and men to understand how we serve together in the workplace, the church, and our world. We asked three men who’ve previously attended Women, Work, and Calling how they would encourage other men to give it a try. Here’s what they said:
As a husband of a wife with a significant career and father of two young daughters, I wonder how I can represent God’s love of diversity, opportunity, and freedom to the women in my household and my workplace. I also know that women experience work differently than men do. We were created equally, but we uniquely reflect God’s image. I’ll attend Women, Work, and Calling to understand the challenges my wife and daughters will experience and to know how to love and advocate for them. What better place to do that than at Women, Work, and Calling!
The word "bias" is important in today's world. There are things that we as men are simply unaware of that our sisters go through related to the integration of their work, faith, and calling. "Bias" is not only reflected in outward actions, but it also comes from an internal lack of understanding. The best way to increase my understanding is to step out of my normal environment to listen to conversations going on elsewhere. I attended Women, Work, and Calling in 2018. It removed me from my normal experiences in mostly male environments and allowed me to learn in a room where I was outnumbered 30-to-1. It forced me to listen to the conversations women in the church need and want to have, and it helped me better understand the challenges they face related to faith and work. If you want to be better equipped to work alongside women, in the workplace and in church settings, I encourage you to attend this event and listen. Ask questions when necessary, but most importantly, listen.
Andrew Brill, 5280 Fellowship alumnus
Here are five reasons why men should attend Women, Work, and Calling:(5) All people are called to work (Genesis 1-2), and since women are people (!), both men and men have a call to work side-by-side in God's world. We have much learn from women as co-laborers in creation.(4) Women have traditionally done a better job thinking about how their vocation plays out in both work and family. Men–and fathers–could take notes from them.(3) Women account for more than half of the American workforce, and they have contributed more to economic growth in the last 50 years than men. What's the secret? And what do women uniquely bring to our information age?(2) Michaela O'Donnell Long is gonna bring the goods on leadership, entrepreneurship, risk, and healthy hearts.(1) Denver's own Joanna Meyer is America's best voice on the topic of women and vocation. I learn from her daily on staff ad Denver Institute for Faith & Work, and plan on hearing more of her wisdom on Saturday, Nov. 9.
Jeff Haanen, Founder and CEO, Denver Institute for Faith & Work
Joanna serves as Denver Institute’s Director of Public Engagement, hosts the Faith & Work Podcast, and founded Women, Work, & Calling, a national initiative that disciples women for godly influence in public life. Prior to coming to the Institute, Joanna worked in global telecom, nonprofit consulting, and campus ministry with Cru. She served as associate faculty at Denver Seminary and as a sewing instructor at Fancy Tiger Crafts. A third-generation Coloradan, Joanna appreciates both the state’s innovative culture and its cowboy roots. She has an MA in Social Entrepreneurship from Bakke Graduate University and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She also completed a certificate of Women in Leadership through Cornell University.
She is the author of Women, Work, & Calling: Step Into Your Place in God’s World (IVP, Fall 2023) and is a contributor to the multi-author book, Women & Work: Bearing God’s Image and Joining in His Mission through our Work (B&H Publishing, Spring 2023).
