How giving time - mentoring, listening, guiding - creates momentum and aids the next generation
It’s undeniable that mentoring is one of the most important steps leaders can take in boosting the next generation and helping to accelerate young people’s growth, skills, development and confidence. It was recently reported by Mentoring.org that young people who have access to a career mentor are 75% more likely to hold a leadership position, and yet, only 37% of young professionals have a mentor. And when it comes to young women, the numbers are even lower, with young male professionals 20% more likely to have a mentor than their female counterparts. This needs to change if we want to enable the next generation of women to thrive and minimise the gender inequality within our industry.
This year’s International Women’s Day theme, “Rights, Justice, Action for ALL women and girls”, highlighted the impact of investing time, opportunity and support for women and girls in order to combat inequality, especially in the workplace. I believe progress happens through collective action, and one of the most meaningful contributions we can make is sharing our time intentionally.
Keep building your network and show up to new spaces; every conversation, every event holds the potential to open a door you didn’t even know existed.
The most obvious way this can be achieved is through early mentoring schemes, especially as we know young women report significantly lower confidence levels than men (and a gap that only shrinks after age 40!), but also through sharing skills and engaging in schools' outreach. Sharing skills can be something as simple as spending an hour a week supporting young people with writing CVs, interview techniques, or even sharing your own career insights – all of which go towards building the confidence of young women and helping to close the confidence gap.
I’ve found one of the most impactful places to share my skills and personal insights is through schools' engagement and careers fairs. The insights you share with young people are often paramount, and when I reflect on my own experiences, the leaders I had at the start of my career were some of the most inspiring and really shaped how I paved the way for the rest of my working life. We all know someone with school-aged children who is trying to work out what they want to study or what career they’d like to pursue, and having these conversations at an early age is instrumental in helping young people secure their futures.
However, this isn’t the only way we can inspire young women and girls. An often overlooked part of collective action is allyship. No matter your gender, it’s important to always be an ally to the next generation and ensure that we each help to amplify voices, challenge bias, and advocate for others. This doesn’t have to be complex or arduous, but as simple as encouraging someone to start something new or calling out language which subtly conveys an internal bias. Something I noticed recently was how often we refer to people with jobs like bankers, surveyors, doctors as ‘he’ before we’ve even met them! Being aware of this and trying to use inclusive language can go a long way to altering internal bias and making young women and girls feel they fit in and can take on careers in traditionally male roles.
In my own experience of working within early careers, I’ve seen the benefit of the ‘small things’ we can do to really impact young people’s journeys, especially young women. I’ve found that if you take a small amount of time out of your day to check in on those just starting out and always remain open to sharing knowledge, this goes a long way to making young women feel comfortable and able to ask questions without fear of saying the ‘wrong’ thing. My main piece of advice for everyone to take on, is to celebrate when others do well, hold space for young women and girls and remember that ‘small things’ go a long way.
I would therefore encourage all working professionals to make space for the next generation, whether that be in apprenticeships, work experience or graduate roles, which in turn will create a stronger pipeline of talented women and can only help to boost future workforces and their inclusivity. At Gleeds, we’ve been working hard to encourage young women and girls into our industry, through our accessible apprenticeship and graduate programmes and outreach partnerships such as the Schools Outreach company and Girls Day School Trust (GDST), who help us encourage girls into the built environment. We also have visible role models, allies groups and promote a culture of shared learning via both our Women at Gleeds network and leadership programmes.
As I conclude this month’s BuildHER column, I want to leave you with a quote from Janet Mock, an American writer, which I think perfectly encapsulates why we should be inspiring the next generation through the gift of time, mentoring and collective action:
I've preached the importance of having role models, mentors and friends who support you. It took a village for me to be who I am today, and it still takes a village to assist me in the journey ahead.
