What does bringing diversity to the culture of a Christian workplace look like?
Earlier in the year, our CEO, Janie Oliver, attended Rise 24, a gathering of around 70 women from 34 nations who are in places of Christian influence. The Rise network aims to see women as co-leaders with men, as advocates on issues that particularly impact women and girls, and as respected leaders in many international contexts. The programme for this year's conference included sessions on theology, research about the role of women, practical actions for change and sharing of ideas and expertise from global women leaders.
Female representation in leadership
In this interview with Rise, Janie talks about the importance of female representation in leadership, especially in the charity sector where around 67% of the workforce are women. She also discusses recent cultural changes at Stewardship, which include an increase in female representation on our Executive Team from around 33% to 75% and a shift towards increased collaboration and communication.
Key to the changes is increased ethnic and gender diversity in our workforce, which makes for a wider and more balanced approach to decision-making; and a servant-leadership style that nurtures attributes like humility, total transparency and compassion and encourages everyone to put others first.
The Rise in Strength story
Rise in Strength began in 2019 when 65 women from 18 nations came together in Amsterdam for a three-day consultation.
Rise celebrates the gifting, service and leadership of women in the church across the globe. They call on Christians to take steps to honour women’s leadership in family, church and community to increase the effective witness of the Gospel.
The name, Rise in Strength, refers to the prophet, poet, judge and national leader from the Old Testament, Deborah. Partnering with Barak, she saved her nation from enemy forces and sang of how she rose in strength to answer God's call.
Photo: Janie Oliver, CEO of Stewardship. Courtesy of Rise.
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Ruth Jackson
Ruth is leading the PR and Communications for Stewardship, which she joined in April 2022.
She has over 25 years’ marketing communications experience across a range of sectors, including higher education, technology and the arts, both business- and customer-facing.
Ruth worships and serves at C3 Church in Cambridge where she lives with her husband, two teenage daughters, a dog and a cat. When she’s not at her desk, you might find her rowing on the River Cam, in a ballet class or out for a walk.
She supports causes that are focused on alleviating global poverty and injustice, with a particular interest in supporting vulnerable children.
