Our Mission

Benefits |  Guiding Principles |  Our Mission

Women mentor Women is a division of “I Can Still do That Foundation” a non-profit foundation with the goal of helping displaced workers get back to work through inter-generational mentoring.  Our goal is to help women in the workplace by matching them with seasoned women professionals, igniting insight, two-way transfer of skills and knowledge and building relationships that matter.

Women Mentor Women strives to help women achieve equality in the workplace by increasing their opportunities for mentoring, or career guidance by a more experienced industry expert.

While professional women are making great strides in the workplace and at all levels of higher education, the “glass ceiling” phenomenon continues to exist in America and elsewhere.

Research shows that mentoring is the most effective organizational tool for attracting, developing and retaining successful managers and leaders within business organizations. Mentors are promoted six times more often than those who do not receive formal mentoring. In addition, retention rates are higher for both Mentees (or protégés) and Mentors when an organization institutes a formal mentoring program. We consider the Mentor/Protégé relation a “team” and therefore refer to the pairings as “Mutual Mentors”. This is a mutually beneficial relationship and advances the goals of each party and of the organization and society in general. It is also a primary tool for diversity and succession planning.

Women have been denied the benefits of “the Good Ol’ Boy” network for far too long, resulting in continued discrimination in the workplace and lack of parity or “equal pay for equal work”. Partially due to a lack of role models in leadership positions in the workplace, it has been more difficult for women to find Mentors in their organizations and elsewhere, than for men, and for women to form professional teams for mutual career advancement. There has also been the issue of sexual harassment and the historic power imbalance between a Mentor and a protégé, making the trust necessary for a successful “Mutual Mentor” relationship difficult to achieve. In addition, successful women professionals sometimes identify more with their male cohorts than with their working “sisters.”

Job losses are currently at an all time high and unemployment rates continue to climb in the down economy for both men and women. Ironically, women have been less effected statistically by the Great Recession than their male counterparts. This may be due in part to the fact that they are generally less paid for their equal work, making it more economical for large firms to fire better paid men during corporate down-sizing.

Women and men alike must be more poised than ever to evolve and find balance and peer support in a rapidly changing global job market. This means responding proactively, continue retooling, training and planning ahead. Mutual Mentoring among women can be an important tool in maintaining a competitive advantage.