Women's power in the church: Successful completion of the mentoring program!

Women's power in the church: Successful completion of the mentoring program!

In the diocese of Eichstätt, the mentoring program “Church in Mentoring – Women Shaping Leadership” was recently successfully completed, a real highlight for the promotion of women in the church. Alena Buckl, Katharina Hupp and Stefanie Bauer took part and developed valuable projects that are intended to increase the proportion of women in management positions. At the end of the program were the mentees' presentations, which were accompanied by head of office Thomas Schäfers and whose results are promising.

Each of the participating women presented their own project: Stefanie Bauer, advisor to the head of the department, worked on structural optimization in the management area, while Alena Buckl, deputy head of the payroll department, developed a concept for introducing digital personnel files in the Caritas area. Katharina Hupp, an art historian working in the cultural and monument preservation department, was responsible for converting the inventory software in the cultural sector.

A strong network for women

The Hildegardis Association, together with the German Bishops' Conference, launched this mentoring program, which started in 2015 and is now represented in more than 20 German (arch)dioceses and organizations. Over 200 tandems, i.e. pairs of mentees and experienced mentors, have already been formed. The goal of “Church in Mentoring” is clear: to increase the proportion of women in leadership positions within the Catholic Church and to strengthen their professional development.

According to bistum-eichstaett.de, there are ambitious targets: By 2023, a third of leadership positions in the Catholic Church should be filled by women. The results so far show progress. The proportion of women in senior management rose from 19% to 28%, and in middle management from 24% to 34%. In the Episcopal Ordinariate of Eichstätt, the proportion of women is 22%, with a total workforce of 66% women.

Setting the course for the future

The diocese has set itself ambitious goals for the coming years: the proportion of women should increase to 30-35% by 2030/35. Succession planning, development discussions and targeted training measures are planned for this purpose. Even though the diocese will not participate in nationwide mentoring next year, promoting women in leadership remains a strategic concern.

The mentoring program uses a strengths-based approach, bringing together women from different areas of the church to support one another. This networking and regular exchange are not only important for personal development, but also for sustainable personnel development throughout the Catholic Church.

As the Hildegardis Association explains, the program is intended to help increase the attractiveness of the church as a field of work and at the same time prepare young talent for leadership roles. This shows that mental and practical learning can go hand in hand to open up new opportunities for women. Those interested can find further information about the program on hildegardis-verein.de and on the website kirche-im-mentoring.de.