Good News About Women Helping Other Women
The Pink May/June issue includes the results of a poll the magazine did of more than 2500 women who attended a series of conferences in six cities during 2007. Among the findings is that 98% of those polled believed that they have a responsibility to help other women.
So, if you too feel a responsibility to make the workplace a better place for other women, don’t just think about it, take action.
- If your company has a formal mentoring program, consider participating in it. If it doesn’t, think about starting one. Or at least mentor another woman on an informal basis.
- If your company has a women’s affinity group, join it. Volunteer to help in whatever capacity you can.
- If you lead people, be sure you offer the same opportunities to the women on your team as you do to the men. Don’t be blindsided by the gender schemas that affect both men and women.
What other suggestions do you have? What kinds of help have you given to other woman? Let’s make each other’s day!
TAGS: competition, Cultural diversity, look and sound of leadership, servant leadership, Volunteering at work, Women at Work, Women In the Professions, women leaders, women not trusting women, women role models, women working for women
We can even help in settings outside our own workplace. Some of the best career strategizing/mentoring happens between friends at lunch, at book clubs, at the park or beach as our kids play. I’ve also found myself offering suggestions and advice to young women reporters who are interviewing me. Finally, networking sites like LinkedIn and Plaxo offer opportunities to reach out to current and former colleagues.
Comment by Liz Weston — May 28, 2008 @ 1:35 pm
Amen, Carol and Liz. The world is abundant. Act like it.
Comment by Dr. Lois Frankel — May 31, 2008 @ 11:44 am
If you’re a female senior executive, your mentoring advice is definitely needed, but your time is limited. I have been advising women to limit mentoring to one particular topic suited to that junior woman’s needs. In this way, a number of women can be mentored in a reasonable amount of time.
Nancy Clark
CEO WomensMedia
Women’s Lunch Talk
Comment by Nancy Clark — July 11, 2008 @ 6:23 pm