How a great mentor can help women march forward in their careers

Got your back: Support from someone senior who’s serious about seeing them succeed can make all the difference for early career women, writes Bella Harrington.

Eventually attaining a leadership role is a common ambition for young women on the cusp of their working lives. Thanks to the efforts of those who came before us – our mothers and grandmothers who fought for the right to be treated fairly and be afforded the same opportunities as their male counterparts – it’s become more unremarkable and much more achievable than 20 or 30 years ago.

Women of my generation understand our good fortune, and we couldn’t be more grateful for the equality and inclusivity we experience at work and in society at large. A plethora of career options have opened up in the last three decades, and tens of thousands of us around Australia have capably assumed roles and responsibilities that were once the exclusive purview of our male counterparts.

That doesn’t, however, mean it’s easy or straightforward for women to find their feet when they’re fresh to the workplace. Asking for the opportunities you need to grow your skills, or for help to identify the capabilities you need to develop or improve can be daunting. Although some women are brimming with confidence, many more are diffident about their abilities, as per the body of research that shows women are less likely to apply for roles if they don’t meet all the criteria. And when you’re new to the business or corporate world, you don’t know what you don’t know.

Encouraging your progress

That’s where a mentor or sponsor can make an extraordinary difference. Having someone who’s prepared to take the time to understand your aspirations, encourage you to acquire new skills and attain the confidence that, “yes, you can do this”, is a game changer for many young women.

It certainly was for me. With the support of an inspirational senior leader who saw the passion and commitment I would bring to the table, I was able to assume a leadership role in a regional telecommunications provider at the age of 26.

Thanks to his coaching and guidance, I could march forward with confidence, making a successful transition to corporate life when that business was subsequently acquired by a much larger competitor.

The decision to follow him to subscription software company Prvidr was an easy one to make, when he tapped me for the role of inaugural head of people and experience, with the remit to put in place processes and practices to enable motivated individuals to do their very best work.

Supporting others to succeed

Since joining the company almost two years ago, I’ve worked hard to do just that, for our female and male employees alike.

While we’re a small company – just 73 staff and counting – we endeavour to act like a larger one when it comes to offering the support that makes a genuine difference to people – women especially, but men, too – at critical life moments.

Most recently, that’s resulted in us developing a paid parental leave scheme that allows primary and supporting caregivers alike to take 10 weeks at full pay.

Offering options like this makes it attractive for women who want to balance work with family life to pursue their careers in a wider range of settings, not just with large organisations that have the deep pockets to fund generous entitlements.

And while Prvidr is too small to be captured by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s mandatory reporting programs, we’re committed to the principles it promulgates – using data to achieve better gender balance and equal opportunities in the workplace.

In collaboration with my CEO and mentor, I sit down each year for an annual remuneration review, which entails us analysing the various roles on our payroll and self-identifying potential salary discrepancies.

It’s important work that helps a fast-growing tech company get it right from the get-go, for every employee on our team.

Paying it forward

Having achieved my ambition of joining the ranks of senior leadership, I’m committed to emulating my mentor’s example by doing for other young women what he did, and still does, for me.

That is, empowering them to take on harder things – responsibilities and challenges that push them out of their comfort zone and enable them to develop the capabilities they need to advance and grow.

We’re all on a journey together, and supporting the next generation of women to march forward will help us arrive at genuine equality much faster than if we travel alone.

Bella Harrington is the head of people and experience at Prvidr.