This coming Monday our founder, Colleen Vacelet, will be participating as a mentor of a national event, Mentoring Monday put on by the Business Journal. All around the country there will be ‘speed mentoring’ happening for young women professionals looking to garner knowledge for the future next steps!
Female mentorship matters in the professional lattice. Data has shown for years now and still existent, that there is a gender gap in leadership roles, but the bigger question is are we closing in on that and how quickly? Reality shows the needle is only budging so far. How do we make a paradigm shift that creates impact? For me, it’s mentorship.
Starting out in my career I had many great mentors, but in looking back, they were all mentors that were men in leadership roles. Those mentors for me were amazing, but to see another woman in a leadership role, to have that example of “oh, why yes, this is achievable” is quite paramount in terms of moving that needle. Having a mentor who comprehends the particular issues that women face can be completely beneficial. Women mentors can share their knowledge of the gender dynamics at work and offer suggestions on how to be successful as a woman in business or a particular profession.
In recent years, there has been a growing trend of women mentoring other women in business. This is a positive development that can help to empower and support female entrepreneurs and business leaders. Women mentoring other women provides invaluable advice, directed guidance, and support that can help to foster success in the workplace, and even personal life too! I’ve seen groups form that were not around when I started my career. CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women), for example, is a template for what women supporting women means. This group now stretches globally thanks to the guided direction of the CEO, Wendy Mann, connecting women in the real estate industry across coasts and now even across oceans!
Women supporting other women is crucial to building a better future for everyone. If you are a young women professional looking for mentorship, check out the Baltimore Business Journal’s Biz Mentoring Monday this Monday, or if in the commercial real estate sector, feel free to email me regarding CREW.
Intreegue Design is a licensed landscape architecture firm operating in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and soon adding Napa Valley, California. We offer the added value of having expert horticulturists, forest conservation planners, Chesapeake Bay Landscape Design professionals and ISA-certified arborists in house.
Learn more about working with Intreegue and our Design Process.
