Why Mentors matter at a time like this.

At girledworld we know how powerful mentors can be to show girls what they are capable of.

Since 2017, we have connected 30,000 young women with a diverse range of leading industry mentors so they can expand their frame of reference, get beyond the classroom walls and their demographic or geographic circumstances, and develop crucial real-world understandings of emerging jobs and workforce skills which helps them to make more informed decisions about their future career pathways.

girledworld was founded on a problem - girls can’t be what they can’t see. 

Research shows that mentorship is a powerful indicator of future success. Young people need to find someone who can show them the way forward, can help them discover their abilities, strengths and future potential, and can support them as they start taking small steps toward their career pathway planning. This can make all the difference to their future outcomes.

But actually finding a mentor, work experience or industry placements can be pretty daunting and intimidating for students who are still working out who they are, and have no idea where to look or what to look for. 

On top of that, for disadvantaged students, it can be difficult to connect with professional or highly skilled industry networks, or to overcome multiple barriers to accessing mentorship and work experience. 

In fact a report revealed that students from disadvantaged or low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds benefit the most from industry mentorship or work experience, but are least able to access it while at high school. This lack of access is attributed to geographical isolation and low ‘social capital’ for these students, such as a family’s limited social connections with individuals in desired career fields.

The report also stated that mentorship and work experience is one of the best drivers of students’ academic outcomes, career aspirations and self-confidence, especially for high-potential students whose aspirations aren’t consistently reinforced by family, friends and at school.

However, currently in Australia, only about 30% of students can access to up-to-date career information, work experience or mentorship, and this is a hidden weakness in Australia’s career development strategy, and means that SES is a strong predictor of the post-school destinations and pathways undertaken by young Australians. 

Compounding this disadvantage is the COVID-19 pandemic, which has reduced opportunities for young women to connect with industry mentors or undertake meaningful work experience.

We therefore need more online solutions providing high quality virtual work experience and accessible industry mentorship to solve this problem for students, bridge the SES divide, and better link education with future jobs, skills and industries.

But the good news is it’s not all bad news!

There are some students who are fortunate enough to access work experience and reap the benefits. This is often facilitated through formal program providers, school initiatives or by reaching out to family friends or personal connections. But this is often more an exercise in accessibility or convenience rather than tapping a student’s real passions or genuine career interest areas.

So the best way for a student to explore options, jobs and industries and expand their frame of reference is through access to on-demand, high quality career education and industry mentorship early on in their high school journey so they can explore interests, and get a head start on building skills and developing strengths while still at school.

In fact, the power of an inspiring mentor can leave lasting and life-altering impacts on a student searching for answers and greater direction as they embark on the great adventure of life and work beyond high school.

Here’s a GREAT case in point.

Ex-Haileybury student Michelle credits an incredible group of Melbourne mentors with helping to shape her outlook on learning and future career prospects.

At the start of 2019, Michelle successfully gained a summer internship with Girledworld where she shadowed Co-founders Madeleine Grummet and Edwina Kolomanski to see what working inside a fast-growing education company looked like day to day. That same year, Michelle also participated in the Victorian Government sponsored Girledworld Workplace Mentoring Program with UniSuper Chief Delivery and Information Officer Anna Leibel as her mentor. 

“I spent a day with Anna and her team on International Women’s Day to learn about their work, and her team later kindly offered for me to come in during the holidays to show me other departments I might be interested in. Through this, I was able to explore fields I never even thought of working in, such as cybersecurity, governance, risk and financial crime - all of which were incredibly fascinating!,” Michelle says.

It wasn’t just the insight into career pathways that Michelle found valuable, but the broader significance of seeing females excelling in industries like finance and entrepreneurship that have long been the primary domain of men.

“While my mentorship experience definitely gave me insight into career pathways, being mentored by female leaders, in particular, showed me that girls could excel in industries that may otherwise be male-dominated. I’m a strong believer in “girls cannot be what they cannot see”, so female mentorship has played a really significant role in my perspective of what I can achieve,” she says.

The Australian school system currently has a heavy focus on academic performance, but Michelle says workplace mentoring helped her to understand the value of employability skills such as communication and leadership.

“The biggest takeaway for me was that the world of work is becoming incredibly dynamic. Also, to excel at what you do, it’s very important to develop workforce skills such as communication and leadership rather than only technical skills. It also seems like the world of work is becoming much more interdisciplinary, especially with the way tech is changing the face of (pretty much) every industry out there,” she says.

“In terms of my outlook now, I am definitely trying to develop my “softer” skills after realising how valuable they are. I’ve realised that in 10-20 years, there will be jobs that never existed before. Technology, the emerging gig economy and maybe even the Covid-19 pandemic will change the job landscape completely, so I’ve learned that versatility and the willingness to grow is the most important thing!”

Finding a good mentor fit can be a challenge, though, particularly for high school students.

“I would say that as high school students, it is quite hard to get access to useful info because oftentimes you’re not qualified enough to apply to a lot of the internships that allow you to explore the world of work,” Michelle says.

Michelle’s BEST Mentoring AdviCE FOR GIRLS

“The biggest piece of advice I could give is to just put yourself out there. A good place to start would be applying for internships, work experience, or projects you’re passionate about. (eg: research projects, volunteering for a cause etc…) Once you’re in the internship/project, you’ll be introduced to people in the industry, and it’ll sort of be a domino effect where those people you know will introduce you to even more people, and soon you’ll be connected to a network of people that you can reach out to.”

“Another way would be to research organisations that seem interesting, which can be done by simply keeping an eye out on social media. Perhaps you’ll see an opportunity pop up on your Instagram or Facebook feed (may be through ads), or even your LinkedIn feed, which you can then further look into or reach out to and grab coffee to learn about them. While this can be daunting, I do feel like a lot of professionals are very keen to help young people looking to learn. 

So definitely just give it a go!”

Thanks so much for sharing your insights, Michelle. We can’t wait to see what your future holds!

LEARN MORE ABOUT PARTNERSHIPS + WORKPLACE MENTORING PROGRAMS. CONTACT OUR TEAM TODAY

For more on mentoring listen to this ABC Episode of This Working Life with Lisa Leong and girledworld Cofounder + CEO Madeleine Grummet, or read this ABC article on The Power Of A Good Mentor.