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Target Area: Programs and Initiatives

Catalyst Women on Board – Solving the Boardroom Diversity Challenge Through Sponsorship

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ATTRIBUTES
  • Career Development
  • Leadership

SOURCE
  • Catalyst

TYPE OF RESOURCE
  • PProgram

TARGET AREA
  • Board of Directors, Programs and Initiatives

TARGET UNIT
  • CEO, Human Resources, Senior Leadership

LINK TO RESOURCE

Catalyst Women on Board – Solving the Boardroom Diversity Challenge Through Sponsorship

Catalyst
This is an active sponsorship program for women board candidates to enable women’s advancement on to boards and to enable companies to find and appoint women board candidates. Catalyst Women on Board is an annual program in which Catalyst invites senior executive women, considered to be strong candidates for corporate board appointment, and pairs these women with experienced corporate board members who mentor and champion them for two years with the objective of attaining corporate board appointments. The women candidates, after a process of selection, require a company’s sponsorship to participate in the program, as it has a cost.

To learn more about this program, click here.

Employee Resource Groups: Toolkit for Diversity and Inclusion Practitioners

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ATTRIBUTES
  • Career Development
  • Organizational Culture

SOURCE
  • The Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion

TYPE OF RESOURCE
  • TToolkit

TARGET AREA
  • Development, Programs and Initiatives

TARGET UNIT
  • Diversity & Inclusion, Employee Resource Groups, Human Resources

LINK TO RESOURCE

Employee Resource Groups: Toolkit for Diversity and Inclusion Practitioners

The Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion
The Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion created this toolkit to provide practical suggestions and strategies for implementing and managing Employee Resource Groups within companies. The toolkit contains information about:

  • Types of ERGs: Cultural, inter-generational, single parents, working parents, women, etc.
  • Value of ERGs:To organizations and individuals (e.g. community and ally building; engagement, inclusion, and retention; leadership and professional development)
  • Barriers and Challenges:Examples of what ERGs face in Canadian organizations (e.g. buy-in from management and leadership; ERG structure and logistics; membership engagement and retention)
  • Setting Up ERGs for Success: CCDI recommends action in aspects such as formal structures and budget; communications and synergies; accountability; engaging stakeholders; etc.

To learn more, click here.

ERLI: Employee Resource Leadership Initiative

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ATTRIBUTES
  • Capacity Building and Awareness Raising
  • Career Development

SOURCE
  • Catalyst

TYPE OF RESOURCE
  • IInitiative

TARGET AREA
  • Development, Programs and Initiatives

TARGET UNIT
  • Diversity & Inclusion, Employee Resource Groups, Human Resources

LINK TO RESOURCE

ERLI: Employee Resource Leadership Initiative

Catalyst
Catalyst created the Employee Resource Leadership Initiative (ERLI) to engage and connect Employee Resource Group leaders across companies, industries, functions, and regions. ERLI has virtual and live events that aim to share ideas and practices while learning how to amplify inclusion. Additionally, Catalyst holds an annual ERLI Conference and an ERG Community via social media.

To learn more, click here.

What Men Can Do to Be Better Mentors and Sponsors to Women

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ATTRIBUTES
  • Career Development
  • Leadership

SOURCE
  • Harvard Business Review

TYPE OF RESOURCE
  • AArticle

TARGET AREA
  • Implementation, Programs and Initiatives

TARGET UNIT
  • Diversity & Inclusion, Human Resources, Senior Leadership

LINK TO RESOURCE

What Men Can Do to Be Better Mentors and Sponsors to Women

Harvard Business Review
This article explores the need for companies to develop sponsorship programs to uplift the diverse talent in their organizations. The article provides eight key recommendations for leaders and companies to improve their sponsorship programs:

  1. Identify high potential diverse talent: Sponsors should look for driven and ambitious individuals with different experiences and perspectives from their own. They should seek the help of HR and other leaders if needed.
  2. Determine the best stretch role: Sponsors should support protégés for opportunities with high visibility that would benefit both the individual as well as the business. Some conditions to identify the best opportunities are: high risk, involve working with strategic clients, an assignment ofstrategic importance to the business, starting something new, etc.
  3. Position the role: Sponsors should consistently encourage protégés to overcome barriers and give them confidence to advance their position in a given company.
  4. Provide opportunities for development and support: Sponsors should support their protégés in achieving the skills and expertise needed to succeed. Furthermore, they should ensure that these resources are provided by their organization. Additionally, the organization should educate sponsors on the unique challenges faced by more vulnerable groups, including women of colour.
  5. Pave the way: Sponsors should take the responsibility of introducing their protégés to relevant influential individuals in their network that would benefit their success.
  6. Ensure protégés receive candid, performance-based feedback: Sponsors should ensure that their protégés receive clear assessments of their performance with specific guidance to help them improve their results and promote career development.
  7. Help protégés persist: Sponsors must ensure that their organization supports their protégé in light of mistakes or criticism from others.
  8. Champion promotions and recognition: Sponsors should outwardly advocate for their protégés to receive raises, promotions, and recognition if deserving.

To learn more, click here.

A Lack of Sponsorship is Keeping Women from Advancing into Leadership

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ATTRIBUTES
  • Career Development

SOURCE
  • Harvard Business Review

TYPE OF RESOURCE
  • AArticle

TARGET AREA
  • Implementation, Programs and Initiatives

TARGET UNIT
  • Human Resources, Senior Leadership

LINK TO RESOURCE

A Lack of Sponsorship is Keeping Women from Advancing into Leadership

Harvard Business Review
This article explores the varying degrees of sponsorship as a tool for executives who are looking to sponsor women, and women who are aiming to advance their careers. The spectrum can be a useful tool to address barriers in implementing successful sponsorship programs. The article suggests that sponsorship does not have to be all-or-nothing. Rather sponsorship can be considered a spectrum of behaviour with varying degrees of commitment.

From private to public relationships and from the least commitment to the most, the spectrum of sponsorship includes:

  1. Mentor: Provides personal advice, support, or coaching privately, with a commitment of only time.
  2. Strategizer: A strategizer is an executive who shares “insider information” about advancing in the company. They work with their mentee to strategize how to advance in the company, addressing any barriers the mentee may face within the organization.
  3. Connector: A connector is an executive who introduces and talks up their mentee to influential individuals in their network. This allows them to gauge how their mentee is seen by others.
  4. Opportunity giver: An opportunity giver promotes or assigns their mentee to a project or position with high visibility, within their capacity.
  5. Advocate: This is the classic sponsorship relationship that involves a sponsor advocating someone they are sponsoring for a significant role. In this case, the sponsor not only commits their time but also their reputation.

To learn more, click here.

How to Mentor or Sponsor Women Without Sending the Wrong Message

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ATTRIBUTES
  • Career Development

SOURCE
  • HR Dive

TYPE OF RESOURCE
  • AArticle

TARGET AREA
  • Development, Programs and Initiatives

TARGET UNIT
  • Human Resources, Senior Leadership

LINK TO RESOURCE

How to Mentor or Sponsor Women Without Sending the Wrong Message

HR Dive
This article includes recommendations for mentoring and sponsoring programs to ensure they don’t send the wrong message within the organization.

  1. Have a formal structure.
  2. Get support and commitment from the CEO and senior executives to become sponsors or mentors, and to provide resources for these programs.
  3. Create programs for both women and men. Mentoring and sponsorship programs only for women send the wrong message that women cannot success without extra training and help.
  4. Ensure that the relationships are as diverse as possible. People tend to sponsor people who look like them which could limit opportunities for women, visible minorities, people with disabilities, etc. Aim for multigenerational, multicultural, and multidisciplinary programs.
  5. Establish two-way relationships. Both parties should gain from the relationship.
  6. Establish goals on which both parties agree to determine what the expected results are from the relationship.
  7. Include training for sponsors and protégés as part of the program to ensure both parties understand their roles.

To learn more, click here.

Mentoring & Sponsoring Starter Kit – Women Need a Network of Champions

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ATTRIBUTES
  • Career Development

SOURCE
  • Center for Creative Leadership

TYPE OF RESOURCE
  • GGuide

TARGET AREA
  • Development, Programs and Initiatives

TARGET UNIT
  • Human Resources, Senior Leadership

LINK TO RESOURCE

Mentoring & Sponsoring Starter Kit – Women Need a Network of Champions

Center for Creative Leadership
This guide highlights the main responsibilities of mentors, provides brainstorming exercises for both mentors and mentees about their needs, and recommends actions for setting expectations for successful mentoring relationships. The guide can be used by both parties in a mentoring relationship.

Setting Expectations:

  1. Agree on the purpose of the mentoring relationship. What is the mentee currently working on? What are their goals, challenges, aspirations, and interests? Does the mentor have helpful knowledge, experience, opportunities, or connections that relate to these goals?
  2. Confirm expectations. How often and where will you meet? What type of guidance would be helpful? How long might this last?
  3. Identify potential problems and how to address them. Are you concerned about not having enough time? What will the mentee do if the mentor does not provide relevant support? What if it turns out that the relationship is not the best fit?

To learn more, click here.

MARC Leaders Program: Engaging Men as Champions

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ATTRIBUTES
  • Capacity Building and Awareness Raising
  • Leadership

SOURCE
  • Catalyst

TYPE OF RESOURCE
  • PProgram

TARGET AREA
  • Programs and Initiatives

TARGET UNIT
  • CEO, Senior Leadership, Senior Management

LINK TO RESOURCE

MARC Leaders Program: Engaging Men as Champions

Catalyst
MARC Leaders is an immersive program focused on engaging men as change agents who lead efforts to bring greater diversity to the workplace.

MARC Leaders Workshops enable emerging and senior male leaders to develop critical inclusive-leadership strategies; sharpen awareness of inequalities, unconscious biases, and privilege; and hone skills to make a lasting impact.

The MARC Leaders Executive Dialogue is a unique program for senior leaders and executives that raises awareness and generates interest in supporting and promoting workplace equity. The MARC Leaders Executive Dialogue introduces concepts critical to sustained collaboration between men and women leaders who champion inclusion.

MARC Teams offer a group-learning strategy for creating inclusive workplaces together.

To learn more about these programs, click here.

CatalystX Online Courses

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ATTRIBUTES
  • Capacity Building and Awareness Raising

SOURCE
  • Catalyst

TYPE OF RESOURCE
  • OOnline Learning

TARGET AREA
  • Implementation, Programs and Initiatives

TARGET UNIT
  • All Units, Diversity & Inclusion, Human Resources

LINK TO RESOURCE

CatalystX Online Courses

Catalyst
Catalyst provides online training through its EdX, non-profit learning platform for which employees can earn a Verified Certificate for a fee or audit for free.

The following courses are currently available:

  • Unconscious Bias: From Awareness to Action
  • Communication Skills for Bridging Divides
  • Inclusive Leadership Training: Becoming a Successful Leader
  • Inclusive Leadership Training: Get Beyond Work-Life Balance
  • Inclusive Leadership Training: Leading with Effective Communication

To learn more, click here.

UN Women Training Centre

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ATTRIBUTES
  • Capacity Building and Awareness Raising

SOURCE
  • UN Women

TYPE OF RESOURCE
  • OOnline Service

TARGET AREA
  • Implementation, Programs and Initiatives

TARGET UNIT
  • Diversity & Inclusion, Human Resources

LINK TO RESOURCE

UN Women Training Centre

UN Women
UN Women provides training courses, gender equality training resources, and assistance for developing courses and training programs.

  • Technical assistance: content development, design, implementation, documentation, and evaluation to develop gender equality and women’s empowerment training
  • Quality Standards in Training for Gender Equality
  • Pool of facilitators and training experts as well as database of training institutions
  • Learning facilities for face-to-face training and custom-made training upon request
  • Needs assessment on learning and training
  • eLearning Campus: global and innovative online platform for training for gender equality. It is open to everybody interested in using training or learning as a means to advance gender equality, women’s empowerment and women’s rights. Examples of the relevant free courses available online include:
  • I Know Gender 4: Women´s Economic Empowerment
  • I Know Gender 5: Women´s Leadership and Decision Making
  • I Know Gender 6: Violence against Women and Girls
  • I Know Gender 7: Gender Equality in the World of Work

 

To learn more, click here.