MoveTheDial Connect is a program designed to curate and facilitate connections between women in tech who can benefit from the mentorship of accomplished global business leaders. The business leaders take on the role of champions who are willing to go out of their way to mentor and guide women who are aligned with their expertise.
MoveTheDial (#movethedial) is a global movement dedicated to advancing the participation and leadership of all women* in technology. One aim is to encourage women to take up subjects in science, technology, mathematics and engineering. The program was profiled in an earlier Digital Journal article (see: “Advancing the participation of young women in tech”).
Many of the barriers that women seeking to enter technology jobs face are environmental and social. This extends to stereotypes, gender bias and the climate of science and engineering departments in colleges and universities. Another reason is linked to lack of mentors and a lack of female role models in the field.
At the inaugural #MovetheDial Global Summit, which took place on November 7, 2018, the MovetheDial Connect platform was introduced, establishing a new approach to mentoring and focusing on women entering the technology industry.
The mentoring scheme provides advantages for business leaders, offering something different to other types of mentoring schemes which can lack a goal alignment between the mentee and the focus of the business. What MovetheDial Connect provides is ‘intelligent matching options’ which produce productive mentoring relationships relating to some key criteria. These criteria comprise of hared values, interests, passions and expertise.
The advantage to women seeking to advance in the technology field include connecting up to some major technology firms and experienced business leaders. The process is also structured, and it is designed to be productive, enabling mentees to set goals, review progress and achieve important milestones.
According to Jodi Kovitz, CEO of #MovetheDial, and an established figure in the world of Ontario tech business: “Finding the right mentor to align to your business goals can be challenging and time consuming for both parties. By providing greater access to senior leaders who are intrinsically motivated to mentor and guide women who are aligned with their expertise, #movethedial Connect will serve as a platform to help our rapidly growing movement scale, save time in establishing successful mentorship relationships, and ultimately achieve our collective mission to move the dial and effect substantive change in the tech industry.”
To begin with there are 85 champions in the #movethedial network. In terms of future expansion, several hundred business leaders have expressed an interest in getting involved, meaning that the program can scale-up, potentially on an international footing.