In the previous article, we posed a question about what could be done to solve the issue of the gap in leadership when it comes to the disparity between men and women in the roles; and then, we just happened to come across an article posted by the Levo League on the Huffington Post that offers food for thought that is right in line with Enlightened Leadership: the impact of mentors and women in leadership.
The Impact of Mentors and Women in Leadership Roles
Without mentorship, education, and development — knowledge passed from generation to generation from the most successful of past generations to the most inquiring of this one — there would be very little continuity of culture over history. Those who strive to teach us have a permanent impact on the future.
Recent decades have brought no shortage of organizations dedicated to elevating the status and abilities of the demographic that this publication focuses on: women. There is, in fact, a miniature crusade to elevate the status of women almost anywhere you go in the United States. These organizations often suffer from a lack of knowledge or desire to collaborate with one another — they form a sort of fractal pattern of “I know better”s. And in many ways, it hardly matters — providing mentors and role models for young women is important, so the proliferation of similarly-minded institutions can hardly be said to have negative impact (however that would be measured, I’m not sure).
But what can be counted — almost on one hand — are organizations that both think and act on a global scale. Many of us are familiar with them — Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women project , theThird Billion campaign, Women for Women International, and Vital Voices are the major players in this arena. A key indicator for the success of these types of organization is whether they can attain either major corporate or government sponsorship. The largest efforts to empower disenfranchised women globally — through economic empowerment, leadership and quality of life efforts — often come backed by management consulting or investment banking firms.
Among these, Vital Voices is a different type of player in the space. Originally stemming from the Vital Voices Democratic Initiative, established in 1997, the Vital Voices Global Partnership was cofounded by former Hillary Clinton aide and chief of staff Melanne Verveer, current Vital Voices President Alyse Nelson, Donna McLarty, Mary Yerrick, and Theresa Loar. Their three central goals are to elevate the status of women by providing aid to improve their quality of living as well as by developing female leaders in small communities worldwide to bring economic prosperity to these communities — from the inside out.
The impact of mentors and women in leadership roles is arguably the most important factor when cultivating leadership skills in young women today. What’s your take?
