Much is said about the need for mentoring women to help them stay the course and break the glass ceiling . The question really is do the senior women, who are best placed as role models, really play a strong role in mentoring aspiring women? Far too often one feels we are trapped in some show case, episodic “mentoring events” around occasions like Women’s Day that create nothing more than a feel good for the mentors themselves. We need to ask why we do not find more women mentoring women in the real sense.

Contrary to the assumption of competition between women, studies show that it isn’t necessarily what keeps more women from supporting each other through mentoring. It’s that most women feel that they don’t yet know enough to act as a mentor. However, the very fact that women are more inclined towards self-doubt; and also back themselves less than men, (leading to a global ‘gender confidence gap’), is the reason more women should encourage their female peers to act with confidence.

To address this, we need to create an ecosystem where women mentors can effectively play their role. Because a mentoring program, either for professional or personal development, is built on a mutual trust and respect of the mentor and the protégé, its development and implementation should be approached with delicacy. While organizational mentoring programs may take different shapes and structures, certain practices should be considered when creating and embarking on a fresh mentoring program.

1. A mentoring program roadmap should be created including a business case as well as a project and implementation plan. Among other things, a roadmap should comprise basics like needs assessment findings, project plans with key milestones and program descriptions.

Successful formal mentoring programs should also have a full-time program manager dedicated to managing and administering the mentoring program. The program manager’s role is often crucial to making the program a success, especially providing the much needed support to women mentors.

2. A working group representing leadership comprising of representatives from different functions and the mentors can be formed. The committee ought to set the goals of the program. It’s important that its members be aligned to the creation of a learning culture, and should preferably create a contract encompassing the purpose of the committee, its roles and responsibilities.

3. Last but not least, of late, web-based mentoring tools have been found valuable in the mentor/protégé matching process as they ease the burden not only of matching, but of tracking meetings and giving participants access to materials relating to career development too. These tools have the capability to asses and identify competency strengths and areas for growth; as well as help to shape the end goal of the mentoring relationship.

4. Usually associated with the professional sphere, mentors are regularly advised to be wary of limits and focus primarily on professional challenges. But in fact, great mentors tactfully assist their protégés to pursue self-actualization outside of work, too. Particularly for women, being holistically mentored by another woman professional can be extremely helpful when faced with nuanced issues like second careers, workplace politics, the glass ceiling and sexism, to name a few. At Dale Carnegie, one of our cultural focus areas is championing, supporting and mentoring women, and ensuring they have opportunities to grow within the organization.

Women professionals should remember not to undervalue the insights, work/life balancing skills and hard-won insight they have gained in the process of getting to where they are. Women who go out of their way to support other women create a ripple effect that benefits all.