Today, the Vital Voices team is thrilled to welcome to Washington the 2013 participants of the Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership – a unique partnership between FORTUNE’s Most Powerful Women, the U.S. Department of State, and Vital Voices. The program pairs emerging leaders in business from around the world with top American female executives – FORTUNE’s Most Powerful Women – who serve as mentors. This year, 27 businesswomen from 17 different countries are participating, and their businesses are just as diverse, ranging from finance to fashion to technology to law.
The program kicks off here in D.C. where the group will meet with established women leaders from across sectors – from Senator Barbara Mikulski to Dr. Carol Lancaster to Susan Molinari – as well as begin getting to know each other. Next, they’ll part ways to spend two weeks working closely with their mentors at mentorship sites across the country, immersing themselves in a new business and benefiting from the guidance of a mentor and her network. If last year was any indication of what’s to come, when we reconvene in New York next month for the close of the program, the mentees will have plenty of rich experiences, new ideas and stories to share with one another.
At Vital Voices we know that mentoring is key to leadership. And women who have broken through have a responsibility to ensure others follow in their footsteps. That’s why this year’s mentors truly exemplify the leadership attributes Vital Voices has observed while working with women leaders since 1997. It is an honor to work with the 35 mentors who are so uniquely poised to catalyze the success of their mentees. For example, we’re looking forward to seeing how software company CEO Anne Amuzu builds her business in Ghana after spending her mentorship in Silicon Valley with mentors such as Megan Smith of Google; the collaboration between Indian fashion designer and retail executive Simrita Dhillon and her mentor, Laurie Ann Goldman, CEO of SPANX; and how designer Beatrice Mochere will work with her mentor Martha Stewart to continue using design to promote sustainable development in Kenya.
What is striking about this program is that the mentees leave the U.S. equipped with new skills and a brimming Rolodex that enables them to not only accelerate the growth of their businesses, but also the social impact that they have in their communities. Take, for example, Manal Kelig, a 2012 participant who partnered with another program alum, Amany Eid, to host Cairo’s first Mentoring Walk in November. Sarika Bhattacharyya just hosted the inaugural I-Inspire conference in Delhi, bringing together women professionals to accelerate the success of women entrepreneurs across India. Now in its eighth year, the Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership now counts nearly 200 businesswomen leaders amongst its ranks, so I know the stories of alumnae paying it forward are countless.
Stay tuned to Vital Voices on Twitter and Facebook for updates throughout the program!