In
western Canada, BPW Saskatchewan has received
a CDN$5000.00 grant to develop and deliver
a pilot mentoring program for women in Saskatchewan.
The mentoring program will carry an important
message to encourage women to give back
to the business community, by contributing
their time and effort and sharing their
skills and knowledge to help other women
progress in their lives and careers.
This pilot program will be delivered to
four rural communities and two urban centres,
that have access to the internet, because
the mentoring program is done entirely through
e-mails. Women accessing the program will
be required to join BPW as a Virtual Club
Member, a Regina or Saskatoon Club member
or a BPW Canada individual member. The participants
will be matched according to their preference,
by profession, culture, age and experience.
Mentoring maximizes the sharing of skills,
knowledge, experience and wisdom and provides
a two-way learning experience for both mentor
and protégé. The project team
has been assembled under the project leader,
Darlene Cleven, BPW Saskatchewan Past Provincial
President and BPW Canada Vice- President.
For BPW Canada members, there are plans
to apply for additional funding through
the “Status of Women” Office
in Canada. The intent is to have the mentoring
program accessible to BPW members across
Canada.
In Eastern Canada, the Greater Moncton
BPW in New Brunswick has implemented mentoring
as their focus for the year 2007-2008. Each
new member who joins the club will be provided
with a mentor so they have someone to introduce
and welcome them to BPW. They will assist
and encourage them in participating on the
various committees and involving themselves
in activities and opportunities for growth
within BPW.
The Greater Moncton BPW Club will be starting
with the facilitation of the Mentoring Module
from the National BPW Career Development
Series within their membership. Young BPW
members will be implementing a mentoring
program for young single moms still attending
school. The expectation is that BPW will
form partnerships with “Women in Need
of Mentoring” in the Greater Moncton
Area within the next two years.
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Triva
Landry (left) with her mentor
Maureen Craig McIntosh, member
of the BPW International Mentoring
Task Force |
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Membership
secretary Janet MacDuff and
BPW Moncton President Sharon
Hale are in the background;
posing with Young BPW members
(foreground). |
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Maureen
Craig McIntosh is Regional Representative
to the BPW International Mentoring
Task Force representing North America
& the Non-Spanish Speaking Countries
of the Caribbean. She can be reached
at Maureen@nbnet.nb.ca |
Personal Development & Mentoring
Committee
The purpose of this committee is to encourage
self-development pertaining to the education
of women, to propose studies and projects
for our members to undertake and prepare
themselves not only for success in their
personal life, but also to be able to reach
out to others and to fulfill our mandate
as leaders in women's affairs and concerns.
BPW provides leadership training in many
areas, and will provide the mentorship to
help to fulfill Young BPWs’ ambitions.
There is a saying that "If we want
our dreams to come true, we must wake-up!"
BPW Canada members can
participate in six modules through the self-directed
approach workshops which are provided by
the Committee. They are free for every member
and each module is about 2.5 hours in length.
(Any BPW Canada member can be a facilitator
by just following the directions in the
Facilitator's Guide for each module).
The mentoring modules include:
Module 1: MEETINGS
This module includes a simulated meeting,
“mini” case studies and some
helpful tools, as well as follow-up activities.
Participants can learn how to organize,
lead and participate in meetings to make
them fun and effective.
Module 2: COMMUNICATIONS
This module addresses the world's greatest
personal fear - public speaking. Each
member should have a plan that can earn
money for their Club. All they need is
one member who is a professional trainer,
English teacher, or a "Toastmasters"
graduate who will agree to be a facilitator.
The self-directed approach is great for
Club members who are used to work as a
group, but an instructor-led workshop
will be a sell-out in most communities.
Module 3: GENDER EQUITY
This module offers them a way to team
up with other women in their community.
Because of the sensitive nature of some
of the content, they may want to make
this workshop "by invitation only".
They are encouraged to select a group
that will work together smoothly not just
for the self-directed learning session,
but in the longer term as a network to
deal with sexual harassment issues in
their community workplaces.
Module 4: BUSINESS ETIQUETTE
This module is active and fun. It includes
its own "ice-breaker" and has
three parts that can be done separately.
Each part takes less than an hour so they
could use them for dinner meeting programs.
They can learn how to introduce themselves,
attend business dinners and use communication
technologies with professional poise and
polish.
Module 5: MENTORING
Their Clubs and careers will benefit
greatly, and they could even provide a
great service to the women in their community.
- First, have all members do the module
in a self-directed workshop.
- Then, start a mentoring program in
their Clubs. They are careful to mentor
new members and to value the contributions
of the mentors.
- Next, hold a workshop for non-members.
Invite entrepreneurs and women in small
businesses, because they may not have
access to mentors in their respective
workplaces.
Once they have sold the idea in their
community, they can start a mentoring
project like the one BPW Regina has
been running for several years, matching
students and interns with mentors throughout
the community in a formal program.
Module 6: TIME MANAGEMENT
Each Club can provide the members with
a safe and supportive environment to learn
time-saving techniques. Once they have
completed the module, have the Club adopt
a "Tip of the Month" to practice
together at their meetings and then on
their own at work or at home. The leader
will offer a prize to members who can
lose the most time wasters each month
and a trophy for the time champion of
the year. It can help them make the best
use of their time in achieving their goals.
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