Although a lot of progress has been made when it comes to female leadership over the past few years, women CEOs have only increased 6% overall since 2017, and women in other leadership roles have only increased by an average of 3.4% according to McKinsey.
Are we heading in the right direction? We certainly are, but mentoring women in business was never such a diverse, widespread matter as it is now. To help build successful female mentorship programs, some areas are more important than others including creating a safe space to share personal experiences and offering and encouraging well-rounded career advice.
Cultivating a diverse and engaging work culture
Diversity should be embedded in the culture of every workplace. Fostering diverse teams within an organisation can improve the overall productivity, engagement, and morale of the company. It also helps create fresh ideas and new perspectives that can even lead to better decision-making and business practices. According to LinkedIn, inclusive teams are 35% more productive, and diverse teams make better decisions 87% of the time.
Mentorship programs can improve diversity in business by establishing career paths for diverse demographics, providing them with a strong network within their organisation and someone to help them identify and improve skills and knowledge necessary for career advancement.
Eliminating Imposter Syndrome
According to YouGov, 6 in 10 people have experienced signs of imposter syndrome at some point in their lives. Individuals who feel like this typically downplay their own achievements and think their successes in life are down to luck and chance.
Having a mentor can boost an individual’s self-assurance by providing encouragement, constructive feedback, and affirmation. Having the right attitude and recognising you are exactly where you are meant to be, and deserve to be, is essential for pursuing leadership roles and taking on challenging projects. We all need a critical yet supportive friend, and a mentor can provide this.
Offering a robust toolkit for career advancement
Mentoring provides women with opportunities for skill development and career growth. Mentors can offer advice on honing specific skills, expanding professional networks, and accessing resources that contribute to career advancement. It can help workers enhance their ability to connect long-term strategic goals into simple effective solutions that get things done.
Helping in creating a strong professional network
By connecting with a mentor, women can gain access to valuable networking opportunities, which can lead to new business connections, partnerships, and career advancements. Mentoring can be provided by women’s groups, not just by individuals. Women Leading In Business, for example, is an organisation where women who are more advanced in their careers offer support and guidance to those earlier in their career or industry journeys. By sharing their experiences, successful female leaders can help to break down barriers for others.
Offering well-rounded feedback
There are many perks of receiving tangible feedback on how to excel at your job role and what to do to be able to take the next step on the career ladder. 360-degree feedback for example allows your colleagues, supervisor, and mentor, to provide proficient feedback and encourages self-evaluation as well. When done correctly, it provides individuals with a much better, more well-rounded, and diverse feedback process when compared to traditional feedback processes. As a result, individuals will have more chances to make positive changes happen and a clearer understanding of what steps they need to take to reach their career aspirations.
The bottom line
We often seek to encourage others to arrive at a suitable answer themselves, but sometimes it’s necessary to receive guidance from someone who has already done what you are trying to do and takes the time to explain what they did, why it was successful, and what they learned from it. The true value of a woman mentor is taking the time, sharing guidance and advice unselfishly, and helping the next generation of leaders standing on the shoulders of giants.
