LGBTQ+ Reverse Mentoring Program
What did you want to achieve?
Setup of pilot LGBTQ+ reverse mentoring program. 16 couples (Senior Leaders and LGBTQ+ members) were paired up to complete a 6 month journey of mutual education. Targets were:
- Sensibiliser Senior Leaders on equality for LGBTQ+ & transferring knowledge from the community
- Identify & remove potential barriers to equality
- Increase confidence of senior allies to act
- Activate allies, leveraging their power of influence to generate an impact
- Building support environment for LGBTQ+
- Boost an inclusive culture
- Empower participants to speak up
What did you do?
Call for action during Pride month to recruit mentors and mentees. Pairing people in couples based on their profile, interest and maturity in the topic and then setup of periodic meeting to start the journey, monitor progress and close the reverse mentoring program. We also aim tocreate a library of content, available for mentors/mentees to strengthen the educational aspect of their journey.
What are the results so far?
Great participation from all countries and businesses/functions. All mentees have activated six more inclusive behaviours compared to when they started the program including: completed LGBTQ+ online awareness trainings, attended Employee Resource Group sessions, feel more comfortable in being visible allies, talk to their colleagues about Employee Resource Group events, increased willingness to further contribute to the LGBTQ+ agenda. A framework for Allyship maturity was developed with online tools to self-assess the allyship journey.
What have you learned?
Importance of creating a safe space for all to educate, engage and empower on diversity and inclusion. Leave initial space for people to find their way, while providing a set of actions to choose from to generate a concrete impact in the organisation.
Importance of empowering role models to send signals to the rest of the organisation, increasing their knowledge on the topic with specific micro-learnings. Giving people time to learn how to create space in the organisation for minorities and how to boost an inclusive culture with daily actions.
