To enable an equal world, mentor someone.

This year, the theme for International Women’s Day is #EachForEqual, which highlights the role that each of us can play to enable women and forge a more equal world. One of the ways that we can realize this call, especially for women in tech, is to mentor someone as they enter and grow in their careers.

Mentors have played an important role in my career journey, from when I entered university to study computer science, to starting my career in the tech industry. The mentors in my life have played key roles as advisors, listeners and door openers, and I credit much of my success to their support.

Unfortunately, not enough women have this kind of support. A study by the HR consultancy DDI in 2017 found that 63 percent of women have never had a formal mentor in their careers. Now, with many indicators for women in tech failing to progress, the need for mentorship has never been greater.

Help Grow the Women in Tech Pipeline

Over the last three decades, we have seen a marked decline in the number of women earning computer science bachelor degrees in the US, from 37 percent in 1985 to only 18 percent in 2015. This is alarming, especially considering the increasing pace of digital transformation in our economy today. The US government, for instance, estimates 1 million computer science-related job openings will go unfilled in 2020. Since technology jobs pay relatively well, the gender gap in computer science will only increase the wage gap and leave women further behind.

This pipeline issue must be addressed. We need mentors to be role models for girls and counter the cultural and media portrayals of technology and computer science as male-dominated fields. By helping to break these stereotypes, we can open up a world of possibilities that many girls never realized they had.

Microsoft’s DigiGirlz program targets this critical moment in the pipeline by offering a job shadowing day, and also a High Tech Camp for girls who may be interested in technology careers. We host a robust schedule of these events around the world, aiming to empower everyone with information and access to technology careers.

Another resource is Microsoft’s Girls in STEM program, which provides tutorials, lesson plans, videos, scholarships and more. Whether you are an education leader, teacher, parent or Microsoft employee, Girls in STEM is a convenient one-stop shop of resources for anyone to utilize if they want to mentor and inspire future women engineers and scientists.

Mentor Future Women Leaders

The need for mentorship also extends to women in the workplace, especially as they look to rise in their organizations. For women in STEM fields, many arrive at their first jobs with the requisite technical skills. Leadership, however, is a completely different ball game. As a 2011 article in Harvard Business Review pointed out, leaders must now have soft skills such as communication, empathy, collaboration, and trust building, as well as a strong grasp of how to run a business.

Often these skills can only be acquired by observing other great leaders, and getting mentored by one. This is not happening at the scale needed. A 2019 study by Egon Zehnder, an HR Consultancy, cited the lack of mentors or sponsors as one of top three barriers preventing women from rising in an organization, almost equal to bias and the lack of promotion opportunities. With only 25 percent of C-suite roles filled by women, and only 7 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs being women, a strong case exists for using mentorship as a strategy to achieve a more equal gender representation in leadership.

One way to find a mentor is by joining an employee resource group, such as Women@Microsoft, and participate in activities aimed at connecting women with each other, and with allies. In my Customer Service & Support (CSS) organization at Microsoft, we have also set up a formal Technical Mentoring & Onboarding program to connect support engineers with technical mentors, as well as new employees with more experienced ones. We decided a formal program would not only serve the immediate goal of enabling our people, but also help build lasting mentoring relationships to foster career growth.

A Few Tips

Whether through helping to grow the tech pipeline, or supporting women as they advance in their careers, mentoring has an important role to play to enable an equal world. So many women have not benefited from a mentor, so the opportunity for catalyzing change with mentorship is immense.

For women who are seeking mentors, here are a few tips:

·      Be proactive when you meet potential mentors. Don’t be afraid to make the ask, and diligently follow up to set up that first meeting.

·      Be open to sharing and to receiving honest feedback about your career aspirations and challenges. That is what a mentor is for.

·      Be diligent about keeping your mentors updated, either with periodic follow-up meetings, or even an email on how you are progressing.

And my advice to mentors: practice your empathy when you take on a mentee, because you were probably in their shoes at some point in your career. Mentees also offer a fresh perspective, and if you are lucky, you may also benefit by learning something new.