Mentoring and Empowering Women in Technology

Mentorship Mentorship, Talent Shortage, Women in ITC Nuno Reis 7 de October, 2023 0 Comments

How Can I Be a Better Mentor?

Being a great mentor is much more than having years of experience. It requires strong interpersonal skills (which aren’t always common in the tech world) and a genuine commitment to the success of mentees. Here are some tips:

Listen: Be willing to listen to the mentee’s concerns and goals. Ask and be available for peer discussions without imposing your point of view or saying “because I know best.”
Be a Role Model: Act as an example of professionalism, ethics, and respect in the industry. Being a role model is the most challenging job one can have. Failing someone who sees you as a reference can make that person change careers.
Set Clear Expectations: Define clear expectations for the mentoring relationship, including goals, timelines, and communication methods.
Offer Guidance and Promote Autonomy: Encourage the mentee to take initiative and make decisions. Instead of providing answers, guide them to find their own solutions. This promotes critical thinking and independence. The goal is to empower them, not control them.
Be Flexible: Recognize that each mentee is unique, with different needs and goals. Adapt your mentoring style to meet the specific needs of each individual.
Share Experiences and Lessons Learned: Share personal stories of challenges and achievements to inspire and illustrate concepts. Don’t hesitate to show where you’ve failed along the path to success.
Encourage Feedback: Foster an environment where the mentee feels comfortable providing feedback on the mentoring relationship. This openness helps both parties improve the relationship in the future.

Mentoring by Women for Women

Women mentoring women is particularly effective in the tech industry for several reasons:

Identification: Female mentors can share experiences and relate to the specific challenges that female mentees face in the male-dominated tech world. No matter how well-intentioned a man is, he’s not a woman.
Inspiration: Seeing other successful women in the industry will inspire mentees and demonstrate that success is within their reach. And seeing a woman dedicating her time to help others makes mentoring scale.
Promotion: A woman who mentors proves her ability to lead and enhance the resources she works with. By working with women, she gains access to an underutilized resource where it’s easier to find talent, thus increasing her chances of success.
Safety: A mentor not only helps create a network of contacts and seek rewarding jobs but also identifies people and companies that respect and promote opportunities for women.

How Can I Find a Mentor?

Finding the right mentor can be a crucial step towards success. However, there are few women in the technology industry, making them harder to find. Here are the best ways:

Events and Conferences: By participating in tech events and conferences, you are likely to encounter other women with similar careers.
Online Platforms: Use online platforms such as LinkedIn or technology discussion groups to connect with potential mentors. There are specific platforms for women like Geek Girls Portugal, Portuguese Women in Tech (national), Women In Tech (global), and many others where professional women meet and evolve together. My favorite, “As Raparigas do Código” is not so much a community of professionals. They focus on education, mainly for children, but also have a strong component for career changers. In other words, those who are there are truly committed to helping you evolve. I think that for a first step, that’s what you should look for.
Mentorship Programs: Many companies and universities offer formal mentoring programs, where the HR department, happiness department, or alumni department matches the right mentor to each employee/student. Even if it’s random, they already have something in common to start the conversation. In this case, it may not be a female mentor unless you specifically request it.