This article unpacks the significant impact that women’s mentoring programs have on advancing female leadership and overcoming career development barriers for women. It highlights the essential role of these mentorship programs in enhancing career opportunities for women, outlines their benefits, and presents effective strategies for their implementation in the workplace

The Challenges Facing Female Leaders
Despite advances in gender equality, women still face unique challenges in their career development that hinder their professional growth regarding leadership positions in the workforce.

Some of these include:

High expectations: Women leaders are often held to higher standards than their male counterparts and are more likely to be judged harshly for mistakes or perceived weaknesses. This can lead to impostor syndrome, reduced confidence, and a lack of career progression.
Discrimination and bias: Women are more likely to face discrimination and bias in the workplace, which can hinder their career development. Women are less likely than men to receive promotions, pay increases, and challenging assignments and are often subject to stereotypes and biases that limit their opportunities. It can make it difficult for women to break through the glass ceiling and reach the top of their profession.
Lack of support and mentoring: Many women leaders report feeling isolated and unsupported because they have less access to mentors than their male counterparts. It can lead to burnout and job dissatisfaction.
Work-life-balance: Women often face unique work-life balance challenges, as they are still expected to fulfill traditional gender roles at home while excelling in their careers. It can lead to increased stress and a lack of work-life balance, making it difficult for women to succeed in leadership positions.
Women’s mentoring programs can address these challenges by providing the support and guidance women need to succeed in their careers. Ember Conley, CEO of Weber School District, put it this way: “Having a mentor in professional context is the lifeblood of success. Just like children who need role-models to thrive, mentorship drives confidence for women in a cutthroat world.”

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A sustainable community looks a bit different than a sustainable home, so you need a few more tips to help you in your quest. Here are 10 ways to motivate your hometown to go green.

1. Eat Locally 

Send a message to businesses in your community by supporting local merchants. One of the best ways to put your money where your mouth is — quite literally — is to eat at local restaurants. More specifically, choose eateries that source their ingredients from nearby farms and suppliers so that your meal requires less fuel to get to the table.

2. Form a Community Garden

Urban areas don’t always provide the space you need to cultivate your own green space. Instead, you might be able to pool your community together to start a group gardening project. You and your neighbours can grow fruit, veggies, flowers and anything else that comes from the ground.

While you might have to obtain grants and permissions to get started, doing so can help your community go greener in more ways than one. For example, your garden can also house a compost pile through which locals can dispose of food waste without it ending up in a landfill.

3. Start a Neighbourhood Compost Bin

You could also promote sustainability in the community with a shared compost pile. Starting a compost pile for more than one family ensures you have enough scraps to get the soil going. Then, once you have a hearty supply, you can all start using it to grow your gardens — another win for the earth. 

4. Ride Your Bike

Since you can encourage sustainability by modelling eco-friendly behaviours, choose community-facing ones to ensure you have a positive ripple effect. One way to outwardly go green is to ride your bike whenever you can as a pollution-free way to travel. Perhaps that means commuting to work on a two-wheeler or zipping around town to finish your errands. Either way, you’ll show others that they, too, can travel this way — soon, you might have some buddies joining you in the bike lane.

5. Join a CSA

Local farmers will often helm community-supported agriculture programs (CSAs). You can participate by paying an upfront membership fee. Then, throughout the season, you’ll receive produce deliveries or pick them up straight from the farm. Either way, you’ll regularly get a supply of local fruits and veggies, a much more sustainable choice than purchasing shipped-in produce from the grocery store.

6. Volunteer for Earth-Friendly Causes

Every community will present opportunities for you to partake in eco-conscious volunteer activities. Seek out causes that align with your sustainable aims. If you can’t find any group activities, you can set out on your own for a trash pick-up day, for instance. Or, if you feel extra ambitious, you could organise a volunteer event and get the community involved with your efforts.

7. Carpool

Even if you can’t bike, you can make your regular transport greener than before while involving others in your quest. Starting a carpool with your colleagues will take a few cars off of the road each day. You’ll save money on fuel and tolls, to boot. If you don’t live near any coworkers, try and find a public transit route to work to make your commute — and community — more sustainable.

8. Plant Trees

A community tree-planting event can seriously refresh your local environment. A full-grown tree cleanses the air of more than 48 pounds of carbon dioxide each year. So, if you gather to plant a few pieces of new foliage, you and your neighbours could help improve air quality in your community, especially as the saplings take root and grow larger. 
 

9. Push for Communal Car Chargers

Electric cars have taken the sustainable-driving world by storm. Now, the vehicles can drive faster and further without needing a charge, making them a viable option for many drivers. However, some communities do not provide the charging stations required to keep electric cars going. So, push for your community to install such stations, which will encourage more people to drive a more sustainable vehicle. 

10. Vote Wisely

One of the best ways to promote sustainability in your community is at the ballot box. Do your research before heading to the polls so that you can vote for the candidate with the greenest proposed policies. If your support puts someone in office who has environmentally friendly goals, you’ll help your community with just a vote. 

Go Green on a Bigger Scale

Sustainability at home is important, and your community can make it a goal, too. You can be the impetus for such eco-conscious change. Use the above tips as your jumping-off point — from there, you and your neighbours will have no problem going green together.

About the author: Emily is passionate about sustainability and blogs on her own site, Conservation Folks, about how to help tomorrow’s planet today.

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