Recent news reports and articles about the sexism that’s still encountered by women in some situations remind me of discriminatory practices that I learned to overcome through relying on prayer and the teachings of Christian Science.
My technical career began at a time when there were few women working in technical fields. Although equal opportunity for men and women was law, it hadn’t completely been embraced by some of the workers and managers. Human decency was expected, but workplace rules against sexual harassment hadn’t yet been written. Both men and women were learning on the job how to interact professionally with each other in constructive, meaningful, and respectful ways.
The ideas needed to forward our work were spiritual ideas, ideas not belonging exclusively to one individual.
One of the main forms of discrimination that I encountered was not being respected for my contributions in meetings. Frequently, I was the only woman in these meetings. I was talked over, or my contributions to such discussions weren’t acknowledged. Yet, when a man would present the same idea later in the same meeting, it would often be embraced by the participants and carried forward to the next stage. It was frustrating to me, and I was concerned that not being recognized for my contribution to the work we were doing would impact my career advancement opportunities.
Despite these concerns, I advanced up the career ladder with my male peers. When my ideas were ignored or dismissed, arguing more loudly only made the situation worse. I soon realized that I needed a quiet mental stillness and a calm sense that God was in control and governing every aspect of my career (see Mary Baker Eddy, Unity of Good, pp. 3–4).
One of the ideas that I worked and prayed with throughout my career was that God is my employer. He employs me to reflect His qualities, to be His image and likeness. God’s “workplace” is the kingdom of heaven, where harmony reigns and the atmosphere is always constructive. I prayed a lot with Hymn No. 82 in the Christian Science Hymnal, which tells us that to work God’s work we must go forward in strength
With the banner of Christ unfurled,
That the light of the glorious Gospel of truth
May shine throughout the world.
(Arthur C. Ainger)
I understood that my success wasn’t dependent on the number of my ideas that were accepted for implementation, but rather on how well I carried the “banner of Christ.”
During meetings where sexist behavior occurred, I quietly affirmed that divine Mind, God, was the only Mind. We weren’t a bunch of human minds with a bunch of human opinions, vying with each other for validation from our superiors. We were the reflection of divine Mind, and Mind was communicating to each of us the appropriate answer. I had to get my own opinions out of the way and understand that there is only one Mind, God, who is the source of all intelligence and creativity.
The ideas that were needed to forward our work were spiritual ideas communicated by God to human consciousness, ideas not belonging exclusively to one individual, but belonging to all of God’s children to express. God is constantly communicating to His children, as this passage in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy states: “The intercommunication is always from God to His idea, man” (p. 284). When I prayed this way, I could see that the right concepts for our projects came to light and progress was made. Meetings were harmonious, and nobody, including me, felt slighted.
Still, I had this sense of wanting recognition for my contributions. I found comfort in Jesus’ words, “Great is your reward in heaven” (Matthew 5:12). But I wanted recognition now! However, as I prayed with Jesus’ promise throughout my career, I came to understand that my “reward” was proportional to how well I embraced and expressed the qualities of God that were needed on the job—qualities such as wisdom, intelligence, creativity, respect, inquisitiveness, and so on—not to how well I came up with human answers to human problems.
As my career progressed, I began to tailor my prayerful preparation for the day to my calendar of planned activities, identifying the qualities that needed to be expressed during each meeting and endeavoring to express them. None of these qualities are limited to men or women. They are qualities that are available to each and every child of God, male or female.
For instance, the qualities of strength and intelligence are not available just to men. The same is true for the qualities of tenderness and mercifulness; they are not available just to women. Every one of God’s spiritual ideas, you and me, includes and reflects every one of God’s qualities. As Science and Health states, “Union of the masculine and feminine qualities constitutes completeness” (p. 57) and “Masculine, feminine, and neuter genders are human concepts” (p. 516).
Every one of God’s ideas, you and me, reflects every one of God’s qualities.
As I’ve studied the Bible, I’ve realized that, although many devoutly religious people argue that the Bible endorses a patriarchal society, the Bible’s tone is often primarily due to the customs and needs in those days. Yet in instances where women were needed to perform men’s roles or receive the benefits then due only to men, God blessed the women’s activities. For instance, when the daughters of Zelophehad found that his inheritance would not go to his children because he had no sons, they petitioned Moses, and God told Moses that the daughters should receive the inheritance, and they did (see Numbers 27:1–11). Other women include Deborah, a respected prophetess and judge, and Mary Magdalene and Tabitha (also known as Dorcas), followers of Christ Jesus with strong discipleship and commitment.
In my workplace situation, sometimes people would advise me to be more forceful and aggressive. Sometimes I was, and this approach usually didn’t work. Instead, I found that prayer met each claim of sexism when I applied prayer consistently. I strove to reflect and to see in others all the qualities of God, without limiting people on account of their gender. And I was able to demonstrate that prayer is effective, even in the few cases of egregious discrimination. While I can’t claim that the sexism in the organization was eradicated, I no longer felt constrained by it.
As the years went by, I witnessed sexism and other forms of discrimination diminish markedly. I continued to be grateful for the many wonderful working relationships I had with both men and women and for the spiritual growth I experienced as I prayed about sexism in the workplace.
Thinking back on a wonderfully rewarding career, I now realize that the concepts I prayed with—the oneness of divine Mind, and the innate intelligence and creativity of every idea of God, as well as our true employment being to reflect God entirely—are truths that are applicable in any situation, whether or not discrimination and sexism are present. These ideas continue to be helpful in the interactions I have now with friends and colleagues. The qualities of intelligence, creativity, and oneness are universal, available to all.
