GOAL

The goal of the Lifting Leaders program is to inspire and prepare young women to pursue careers in public service through a relationship with mentors who are already accomplished leaders.  The program will create a network of women leaders and young women who have a similar desire to make a difference through public service.

PROGRAM

The Lifting Leaders program provides an exciting opportunity to link promising young women on college campuses with exceptional leaders in public service in the state.  Through one-on-one mentoring and retreats and roundtables over the course of the academic year, participants will be able to explore the challenges and rewards of public service. Each participant will be matched with a mentor who serves in a public service role in the state of Arkansas. 

The program will consist of an opening conference in Little Rock to introduce the goals and procedures of the mentoring program and discuss the value of women's leadership. All students and mentors will have the opportunity to meet and interact together, the first step toward developing meaningful relationships.  Students will identify questions about women's leadership they wish to explore with their mentors and with each other during the course of the program.

Three or four half-day sessions will be held between September and June for participants in the program. Each session will feature interactive discussion to explore issues raised at the opening conference. Throughout the program, mentors and mentees will meet on a schedule convenient to them.

BACKGROUND

The Southern Women in Public Service conferences over the last 20 years have created an informal network for women political leaders to share ideas and opinions and to promote female participation in public service.  Many of these women leaders have expressed a desire to encourage young women to consider a career in public service.  The Lifting Leaders program is a direct outgrowth of the deliberations at the Southern Women in Public Service Regional Roundtable in May 2009 in Jackson, Mississippi.  The name Lifting Leaders embodies the idea that current women leaders are helping lift the next generation of leaders.

Arkansas was selected as the site for the initial pilot project due mainly to the commitment of women leaders in the state.  The program will launch in Arkansas with the aim to spread the program to other Southern states based on the Arkansas experience.

ONLINE CONNECTION

Participants will be able to link online to further discuss topics of interest and to facilitate relationship building between sessions.

TIMELINE

Lifting Leaders accept applications until September 15, 2010, and preference will be given to applicants who submit their applications early.  The opening retreat will be held September 26-27, 2010 at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock.  Three or four half-day sessions will be held during the academic year.  The program will conclude with a celebration dinner in June 2011.

THE MENTOR-MENTEE RELATIONSHIP

The mentor and mentee will meet at least twice a month and will stay connected and informed about each other's lives through email and phone. The mentor will give the mentee a glimpse at her life and work as a public servant by occasionally bringing the student to her work, meetings, or local functions. The mentee will discuss with the mentor possible career paths to leadership in public service.

ELIGIBILITY

Women students attending a public or private university or college in the state of Arkansas and who are classified as a freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, or graduate student and can commit a full school year to the program are eligible to apply. Initially, the goal is to have 15 to 25 student participants and mentors.

MATCHING PROCESS

The mentors and mentees will be matched by taking into consideration factors such as similar interests, political affiliation and geographic location.

IMPORTANCE OF MENTORING

I think it helps to see other women in a political job.  I believe very much in visualization. When people can see themselves in that job, then they are more comfortable making that job their goal. - U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri

In states that have a high percentage of elected women, role models are more accessible.  In states with fewer elected officials, it is much more difficult to contact someone who is able to share the realities of political life and prepare the person for what to expect. - Madeleine M. Kunin, Former Governor of Vermont and Ambassador to Switzerland 

Mentoring has to ebb and flow between generations. There are no more gurus; but there are good experiences that happen to all of us wherever we are, and these can be a rich source of cross-generational learning. - Shifra Bronznick, Principal, Bronznick Jacoby, LLC

Young women would feel on rocky ground if elected, unsure they could do the job well, needing mentors to demystify it. - Marie Wilson, Founder and President of The White House Project

Once you get to the higher levels, it is not so much about competence, since most people at high levels are competent. It is more about connections, networks, mentors, et cetera, who can help you achieve your goals and overcome obstacles. - Kimberly Till, Vice President, Media and Entertaining, Microsoft

Mentoring programs can help get around social network exclusion by providing connections to influential people in the organization who can advocate for people they mentor, teach them the ropes, and provide them with "reflected power" (the status that comes with being associated with powerful people). Having a powerful person publically support a woman helps protect her from blatant and subtle discrimination. Moreover, mentoring allows some outsiders into the networks of powerful people, which provides them with information on job openings and corporate politics. Workers with mentors experience clear advantages over other workers: They are promoted at a higher rate, earn more, have greater work satisfaction and commitment, and have more power and work. - Irene Padavic and Barbara Reskin, Authors of Women and Men at Work