In a male-dominated industry like technology, mentors can help provide women with necessary confidence and knowledge to combat a growing gender diversity gap.
Women technology leaders from the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Maximus, all had a similar message on a panel at the April 13 Women Tech Leaders Summit: “Pay it forward.” …
“It’s important to build a network of mentors, not just in career, but in your social life, in anything that makes you, you,” said NIH Center for IT Acting Deputy Director Jothi Dugar. “I’m a single mom of three, I have a mentor for that. I am a woman in technology, and I have a mentor for that. So, I believe in building a strong network of mentors.”
But as Dugar said, attaining good mentors is only the first step. For mentees the mentorship should be a “two-way street.”
“It’s not all about what the mentor can do for you,” Dugar said. “So as a mentor, you can also learn from your mentee. And as a mentee, it’s also your responsibility to ask, ‘What are you looking for from that relationship from this particular mentor?’” Dugar said… Read the full article here.
