12. Mormon Women at Work and In the Mission Field
As women’s roles in the public sphere have changed over the last 180 years, the church’s formal and informal guidance regarding women at work as also evolved. For example, the February issue of the Friend magazine features a story about “Savannah the Engineer” wherein a young girl prays to know whether she should join the electric car team at school—the answer is yes! How have messages about women working evolved over your lifetime?
Mormons, like others, take pride in tribe members who succeed in the public sphere.
Here's a by-no-means-exhaustive list of Mormon women who have excelled in professions:
Writers
Ina Coolbrith – 1st Poet Laureate of CA, buried in Oakland’s Mountain View Cemetery, Joseph Smith’s niece
Virginia Sorenson – 1957 Newberry Medal for “Miracle on Maple Hill”, several Guggenheim fellowships, “A Little Lower Than The Angels”
Carol Lynn Pearson -- poet
Anne Perry - Interview
Shannon Hale – Newberry Honor book Princess Academy
Stephanie Meyer – Author of the Twilight books
—Jana Reiss on the Mormon Themes in Meyer's Twilight series
—And another article on the same topic from the Huffington Post
Artists
Minerva Tichert
Donna Dewberry - PBS Show on One Stroke painting that features glitter roses
Designers
Rose Marie Reid - Swimsuit Designer voted Designer of the Year for Sports Illustrated and Woman of the Year for The LA Times - 1955, known for her work proselytizing among the Jewish people along with LeGrand Richard, See Julie Smith's short bio of Reid on Times & Seasons
Dancers
Various dancers on dance shows like So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars
Scientists
Ann Osborn Poelman - Medicine/Radiology - her book on neuroradiology is considered a definitive work on the subject
Emily Bates - Genetic PhD researching Migraines, Fetal Alchohol Syndrome - How her Patriarchal Blessing directed her to this career
Politicians
Ivy Baker Priest - US Treasurer in the 50s
Esther Peterson - Assistant Secretary of Labor under Kennedy
Mia Love - U.S. Congresswoman from Utah
Paula Hawkins - senator from Florida and first woman elected to the Senate (1980) for a full term without a family connectio
Musical Artists
Ariel Bybee
Marie Osmond
Lindsey Sterling
Had some brush with the church - Christina Agueilera, Jewel
And here is a list of the “100 Coolest Mormon Women Alive Today.” The title alone caused a good deal of discussion in our ward. Here's what a thoughtful sister had to say on the topic:
"One thing, that may or may not be interesting in the context of "can Mormon women have it all?" question is the top 100 list that you sent around. Things are not always what they seem on the surface. For example, I went to college with one of the women on the list. She has left her husband and two children and decided she no longer wanted to be an active member of the church. I guess my point being that sometimes lists like this only further the tendency to compare and doubt ourselves, when the reality is what appears on the surface is not always the truth. I loved what our Stake President's wife said last week- we are all on different ladders and it makes no sense to compare our ladder to the person next to us. But the temptation to compare is so strong!
Mormon women are really bad about comparing ladders, and now that so many have made a name for themselves on a professional level, many of us (myself included) have yet another measure to compare ourselves to each other with. Not only do I need to have the perfect house, husband, kids, body, service record, and recipes but also I need to be perfectly successful in my career as well. I know all women, in and outside the church, struggle with these issues, but it seems that there is extra pressure on working Mormon women to not only keep things together at home and post about it on their blogs, but also to be successful in a completely different sphere. I for one find it exhausting!"
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Mormon women often talk about feeling spiritually called or directed to their work (see Emily Bates interview under "Scientists"above). Do you think Mormon women are more likely than Mormon men to frame their life pursuits this way? How do you see your chosen course of study or work?
2. How do you think being a member of the church helps women succeed at work?
3. Does being a member of the church hinder or help women pursuing creative work in the arts? What about in the sciences?
4. Do you think there has been a generational shift within the church regarding how married couples share breadwinning, childcare and household responsibilities?
5. What kind of messages would you like to hear about work/life balance at church?