- Welcome to The Journey!
Today we're gonna talk about the importance
of female mentorship in the tech industry.
So regardless of if you're a female,
male, fresh out of grad school,
jumping into the tech industry
can be a little intimidating.
- Yeah, naturally you're gonna experience some doubts,
maybe some feelings of inadequacy,
you know, it's that imposture syndrome,
but who runs the world?
- Girls!
So a mentorship can definitely benefit anyone,
but especially when it comes to women,
what we're seen is its helped to boost confidence,
enhance skills and even helped
with furthering their career goals.
- Yeah, it's no secret that women
are often underrepresented and underpaid
in the tech industry.
I mean, yes we've made great strides
politically, socially, economically,
but there is still a glass ceiling.
- So it's no secret
and women are starting to catch onto this.
When we help each other, we all succeed.
- Boom.
Let's get into the benefits
of how mentoring can be beneficial for women.
- Well, first of all,
insights into a company's dynamics.
So for example, if I were looking
for mentorship within GoDaddy,
I would want him or her to know
a little bit about what I do,
like the role that I play in the company,
the task that I have to do,
because then I have some more insider knowledge,
that could help me improve as a mentee.
- Yeah a mentor can provide
that invaluable experience and advice
really to help you avoid any mistakes
that they may have ran into
or really just that great valuable insight
into how to really better succeed at your role.
- So creating a mentorship within a company,
one of the things I love about that,
it can actually help to boost equality at that company.
- And because there is still an uneven playing field,
it's natural that people are going
to feel that lack of confidence,
sometimes not even applying for jobs or promotions.
So those mentorship programs are
a really great way to really put things in perspective.
- So woman-to-woman mentoring is the most powerful tool.
The reason being is we can relate
to some of the similar struggles
that we have in the workplace
and therefore can be more beneficial.
However, I mean mentorship of all kinds,
of any gender still going to help you
to improve that work life balance.
- Yeah, having both is great,
but there are specific struggles
that women may go through
that men may not understand
or may not see even in the workplace,
so it's a great way to really understand each other,
they've been through similar struggles
and that makes it a lot easier
for you to open up.
- Yeah, so mentorship it's a two-way street.
Think about it this way,
when a woman mentors another woman
it can also help to build confidence,
to lead the way.
- Yeah, I know when I even mentor someone
I'm not even that experienced,
but all of a sudden when I'm helping someone else
it makes me feel more confident
and all of a sudden you have this renewed energy.
- That's so true.
I love that.
Whenever I've had that opportunity
where someone trusted me with my expertise,
they came with questions
and I was able to guide them in some sort of way.
After that conversation I left feeling pretty good.
Pretty good about myself in the direction I'm headed.
- Mentorship in tech specifically
fosters more than just technical skills.
Starting with communication,
it's a great way to practice
that clear effective communication,
especially when someone's willing to listen.
- And leadership.
As an inspiring leader,
if you are interacting with someone at the workplace
who's already in a leadership position,
a higher up role,
that can help you to get that confidence
and even the vision to see yourself
growing in the workplace.
- Yeah whenever you see a leader
that looks like you,
you can envision yourself
in that role a lot more clearly.
- Especially, I know at GoDaddy we have a lot
of powerful women in some powerful roles
that are leadership roles,
senior leadership team
and I know when I sit in on a town hall
and I see them crushing it,
it gives me that like
"I can actually picture myself maybe there one day."
and that's pretty powerful.
- The next benefit is adapting to a new environment.
I know when I first started at GoDaddy,
it was my first job in tech
and I had no idea what I was doing
and just having those females roles
to really help you acclimate
to both the culture and your role
was really important for helping speed up that process.
- Yeah and networking,
so that's another great way to help a mentee,
give them some suggested groups
to join or organizations,
that could also help them feel more comfortable
similar to just having a friend,
a familiar face at that new job in tech,
- So for instance here at GoDaddy
we have GoDaddy Women in Technology.
- Oh yeah.
- That's a great employee resource group
to really help close that gap
and really strive toward the same goals.
- Yeah so with GD WIT,
they focus on really three areas.
One, making a attractive environment
for a woman who wants to succeed
or join the tech world.
In addition to that GD WIT
also facilitates an environment
where you can see career advancement possibilities,
how can I grow here,
making that very clear.
And last but not least,
a discussion for gender equality.
- So as a woman in tech,
how can you make the most out
of these mentorship opportunities?
- So first off, be strategic.
Your mentor is not a mind reader
so therefore you wanna be really clear
about what is it you want to learn,
where do you want to succeed,
areas that you want to excel
as a female in tech.
- Yeah, people are really busy with their day to days.
I mean, you gotta be clear so that they know,
'cause it's not that they don't wanna help you,
maybe they're just really busy
and didn't take the time to think
that you may need that help.
- And don't be shy.
Don't assume that that mentor
is gonna seek you out or come find you
and don't be shy about asking
for more challenging tasks
and things to tackle to help you grow.
- The next thing is seek constructive criticism.
It can seem a little,
you know unnerving to ask someone
"Hey, what am I doing wrong
"and how can I improve?"
But that's a huge resource for you.
I know specifically whenever you're starting out
in like a new role
or even if you've been around for a long time,
you may, you wanna seem like a boss,
you don't wanna seem like you don't know what you're doing.
- I know it all.
- Yeah, but that can be a huge tool
to help you improve.
- So you wanna be intentional and consistent
in order for it to make progress.
- Yeah and don't just take our word for it,
look at the numbers.
Data supports the fact that diverse teams
perform and innovate better.
So we all have to really
proactively promote that diversity.
- Yeah and an even distribution
between men and women,
it's not gonna happen overnight.
Within our involving culture,
women and allies play a critical role in us getting there.
How?
Through knowledge, awareness, skill and action.
- So let's all start making the changes
that we can control to include more women in tech
and really set things up for the future generations.
- Alright, that's a rap.
You just learned the importance
of female mentorship in the tech industry.
Be sure to like this video and hey,
comment below with your favorite inspirational woman.
- Yeah, girl power.
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This is The Journey,
we'll see you next time.