Elaine Hagele, who served as vice president of finance for the Mid-America Union Conference from 2007 through 2014, was a pioneer for Adventist women in positions of leadership. More times than she can remember, Hagele was the only woman in the room during meetings and sitting around decision-making tables.
To deal with these situations constructively, she chose to focus on building relationships. “I fortunately was able to go into most meetings and find I already had good male friends there who were supportive and helpful to me,” Hagele says. “So I didn’t feel like an outsider among the group. If I didn’t already have friends in the group, I worked to make some.” Hagele emphasizes the fact that when the people around you are friends you don’t feel like you stick out as the “only_____(woman, young person, etc.).”
A good sense of humor also helps. Hagele remembers that early on in her career when she was serving as a lay person on a finance committee, the chair took her aside and told her she laughed too much. “He was probably right,” Hagele says. “But I didn’t stop. I’ve had to laugh at situations when both men and women have asked what I was doing at meetings, saying, ‘Which leader is your husband?’ When they learned I had my own leadership role, I expect they were more uncomfortable with their stereotyping than I was.”
Hagele’s advice for women who are currently in leadership positions in the church at any level is to listen and think more and talk less. “If we listen first and think with care and depth, we are more likely to have something of value to say that can benefit the church,” she says.
