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Hagley highlights Catalyst collection on organization’s 60th anniversary

Hagley Museum and Library is helping celebrate the 60th anniversary of a global nonprofit organization focused on women in the workplace.

That organization is Catalyst – and Hagley is home to a collection of the group’s records.

Hagley archivist Diane Bockrath and Catalyst CEO Lorraine Hariton join us to discuss about the Catalyst and that collection.

Delaware Public Media's Kelli Steele highlights Hagley Museum and Library's Catalyst collection with Hagley archivist Diane Bockrath and Catalyst CEO Lorraine Hariton

The Hagley Museum and Library plans to celebrate Catalyst's 60th anniversary coincide with its work on a collection to the organization's records.

Hagley received those records in 2018 and has been cataloging since 2019.

“So we’re just thrilled that the Catalyst Collection has joined our holdings here at Hagley," said Hagley archivist Diane Bockrath. "And it’s really going to open up some new views on the history of women in business, the history of corporate environments in the 20th and 21st centuries and it’s really going to pave the way for some interesting research down the line.”

Bockrath says the collection is expected to become available to researchers later this year.

But 30 pieces will be featured in a pop-up exhibit this Tuesday during an event at Hagley celebrating Catalyst’s 60th anniversary.

Catalyst CEO Lorraine Hariton is bringing her team to Hagley for Tuesday’s event.

“Our message is that - we are at an extraordinary time in our history. Looking back at the 60 years, you can see that we’ve come a long way," she said. "But we still have a long way to go to really come to true equity. In fact, the theme of our 60th Anniversary is The Great Reimagining:  Equity for Women, Equity for All.”   

Catalyst was established by Felice N. Schwartz in 1962 and focused many of its early activities on attracting individual women into the workforce at a time when the labor force was dominated by men. The organization later responded to changing workforce trends and shifted its approach from focusing on individual women’s careers to fostering systemic change at the corporate level.

The Tuesday, July 19 pop-up exhibit will be in Hagley's Soda House.

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Kelli Steele has over 30 years of experience covering news in Delaware, Baltimore, Winchester, Virginia, Phoenix, Arizona and San Diego, California.