Coffee Club Discussion: Mentorship

This month we are going to talk about the importance of a having a mentor in our career!

Many accomplished individuals credit their mentors for their successes. There are many examples, some of which include Oprah Winfrey- Maya Angelou and Bill Gates- Warren Buffett. A mentor can teach the mentee the responsibilities of the job, provide guidance on navigating industry’s policies & practices, and create networking opportunities for the young individual.

Many women in STEM fields can benefit from mentorship to help them achieve a long and successful career. It is often challenging to establish a relationship with a mentor, whether formal or informal, often due to lack of female leaders or perceived inaccessibility of mentors. To bridge the gap, we need more women as mentors, and also to foster a culture of mentorship.

For our coffee club discussion, we’ll be focusing on the value of having a mentor and ways we can achieve effective mentorship relationships. Please check out the links below and send us some of your comments!

Questions to think about this month:

1. Why should I have a mentor and what should I look to get out of mentorship?
2. Do women have different mentorship opportunities, or approach mentorship differently than men? Why?
3. How do I find a mentor and how do I be a mentee (ie. how can I be mentored effectively)?

Check out the links below for some valuable and handy resources:

Mentorship Can Change the Gender Gap in the STEM Fields | Michelle Wu | TEDxAlWaslWomen

Michelle is passionate about solving women pipeline challenge in the STEM fields. Since 2015, Michelle has set up STEM mentorship program in 3 countries through GE Women's Network in the Middle East. Michelle believes that through mentorship and sponsorship, women can thrive and change the gender gap in male-dominated fields.

National guideline on mentoring programs

Disclaimer Engineers Canada's national guidelines, model guides, and white papers were developed by engineers in collaboration with the provincial and territorial engineering regulators. They are intended to promote consistent practices across the country. They are not regulations or rules; they seek to define or explain discrete topics related to the practice and regulation of professional engineering in Canada.

https://www.engr.psu.edu/awe/misc/ARPs/ARP_Mentoring_overview120408.pdf
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