Much to our delight, the 21st century has come a long way in shaping up to be the era in which more women are taking up greater responsibilities and leaving a mark at home, in their workplace, and the society at large. We mustn’t let this progress die down and one sure way to do this is through mentorship to ensure we raise a generation of empowered women.
The positive impact that mentorship plays in ensuring professional and personal success cannot be downplayed. Yet, many women find it hard getting a mentor, much less one with powerful influence.
Why Does Mentorship Matter to Women?
There are a lot of gender-based issues that women continue to face in their day-to-day life. In such times, having a mentor will be of great benefit as it will help you have the courage and motivation to stand in your power to be able to achieve your life’s purpose.
Additionally, it is believed that most of the challenges that women encounter in life emerge from more internal rather than external factors. Most women can do any task assigned to them however their self-doubt makes them unable to perform hence why a mentor is necessary. Mentorship for women will help them in building their character, affirming their value hence better positioning them to take up leadership roles in society.
How Mentorship Can Be Used to Empower Women
- Change the Perception, Change the Narrative
This is based on the simple principle that if you see someone else who looks just like you achieve something, then you are likely to believe that you too can do it and will push yourself hard to achieve the same success.
For this reason, women in positions of power need to take up more mentorship roles to encourage young girls that all is possible. While it is more important to have women mentor other women, we also cannot fail to acknowledge how much of a positive impact a male mentor can also add to women.
- Helps Eliminate Gender Stereotypes and Biases
Men and women alike tend to uphold various societal stereotypes even when they do not realize it. Through mentorship, women can gain equal access to opportunities as their male counterparts hence get the chance to prove themselves as being able.
The respect will come naturally once they realize that you too can handle any challenges thrown at you. For this to be successful, we need to have a diverse pool of mentors who will equip upcoming women with diverse skills and tips.
- Advocating for Gender Equality
The conversation about gender equality is happening in all spheres of life more than ever. As mentioned earlier, the main battles that women fight are mostly internal. By having a mentor, one will be constantly reminded and given the affirmation that they are good at what they do and they deserve it all. This way, women are encouraged to be their own advocates.
As a mentor, you must also be willing to listen to anyone you take under your wing, offer constructive criticism where deserved.
- Team Effort
There is power in numbers. The more people you have in your team the greater the opportunities and stronger the links.
Conclusion
Mentorship and sponsorship opportunities are great for achieving gender equality and empowering women to become productive and dignified members of society. Failure to which, they might never be able to tap into their capabilities to make maximum use of the opportunities presented to them.