2019 - Impact study of the Revel@Her mentoring programme

Discover the impact study, carried out by the Chair, of the Club XXIe Siècle's Revel@Her mentoring programme (2019 edition), which focuses on and targets female graduates from diverse backgrounds.

THE REVEL@HER PROGRAMME

 

The Revel@Her mentoring programme of the Club XXIe Club XXIe Siècle offers a unique support to high-potential women graduates from diverse backgrounds to help them overcome the double glass ceiling due to their gender and origin.

 

The Chair, as an expert partner, has been mandated to measure the impact of the mentoring relationship on the leadership of the women mentees.

 

The programme is innovative in that it is aimed at talented people who are confronted with a double glass ceiling, that of being women and that of being culturally diverse. Very often, young women from diverse backgrounds are not themselves aware of the double discrimination they face and think that their difficulties stem either from their origin or from their gender, but are not aware of the combination of the two. Yet it is precisely the combination of these criteria of discrimination that is the most difficult to understand and overcome.

 

This programme is organised by the Club XXIe Siècle. Mentors are recruited by the association, they are men and women, and mentee-mentor pairs are formed on the basis of personalities rather than belonging to a company or sector of activity.

 

The mentor enables the mentee to see new perspectives, to better understand the codes of the company in order to evolve. Clearly, the mentor is a wonderful springboard for providing a neutral view of the questions and pathways of these young women.

 

Mentoring is organised around a goal set by the mentee in a spirit of support, learning and sharing. Each mentoring is different and will not meet the same expectations or desires.

 

The Chair and the Club XXIe Siècle are convinced that a better professional integration of women from diverse backgrounds and a fairer evolution for them within companies are real societal challenges.

THE IMPACT STUDY

 

The objective of the study conducted by the Diversity & Inclusion Chair is to measure the impact of the REVEL@HER mentoring programme on mentees in terms of changes in their behaviour and leadership.

 

Due to the innovative nature of the programme and its recent implementation on relatively small classes (15 participants for the class of 2019), the methodology chosen is that of a case study with a quantitative analysis of the mentees (15 respondents interviewed before and after the programme) and mentors (11 respondents), supplemented by telephone interviews of approximately 45 minutes (9 interviews).

 

The fact that the programme has been running for 5 years allowed for an analysis of its benefits from a long-term perspective by also surveying the mentee alumni (19 mentee alumni interviewed either by survey or by interview).

 

This multi-pronged analysis of the impacts perceived throughout the programme for both mentees and mentors, as well as the spin-offs observed with a certain amount of hindsight over the longer term, constitutes a global approach to mentoring that has not yet been widely explored by research.

 

SUMMARY

 

This study shows that the Revel@Her mentoring programme benefits participants far beyond expectations:

 

  • The participants gain in fulfilment: the job satisfaction indicator jumps by 18%, 100% of the participants perceive an improvement in their overall well-being which is reflected in the improvement of their relationships with their professional (73%) and private (53%) environment.
  • They are more assertive professionally and more proactive: 93% of the participants declare that they have increased their self-confidence. This evolution is confirmed by the self-esteem indicator, which also increases from 36.8/50 to 40.3/50 between the beginning and end of the programme. 73% of the mentees felt more inclined to take up new professional opportunities. In practice, this resulted in 9 of the 15 mentees applying for a promotion, 3 of whom had already been confirmed (at the time of data collection).
  • The mentees have new resources for breaking through the double glass ceiling: they are more aware of stereotypes (87% of them) and discrimination (80% of them), identify them better and are more reactive in overcoming them.

 

 

This study also shows that the mentoring relationship is defined as an exchange from which both parties benefit. Mentors also benefit in several ways:

 

  • Awareness of stereotypes (for 82% of respondents) and a better understanding of women's issues in the professional world (82%) and of the double glass ceiling linked to diversity (64%).
  • The development of softskills such as listening skills (73%), better self-knowledge (55%) and self-confidence (55%).
  • The benefits go beyond the mentoring relationship itself, as 64% of mentors report improved job and career satisfaction.

 

PARTNER

 

Le Club XXIe Siècle was created in 2004 to offer French society a positive vision of diversity and equal opportunities. Since the Club's creation, its members have been implementing concrete actions, born of field observation, to promote diversity within French society.

 

The Club XXIe Siècle is an independent and key player in the public debate, both think tank and do tank: it is a reservoir of ideas and actions. At a time when the climate is one of mistrust and withdrawal, the members of the Club are more than ever committed to an inclusive society, rich in the diversity of all its talents.

FIND OUT THE FULL RESULTS

 

The results of the impact study of the Revel@Her programme were presented by Hager Jemel, Director of the Chair, Ingrid Bianchi and Florence Bourjij, pilots of the Revel@Her programme of the Club XXIe Siècle, on 15 June 2020 during a webinar followed by a question and answer session.

 

DOWNLOAD THE REVEL@HER 2019 STUDY

 

Contact the Chair's team directly by email and indicate the reference of the study you wish to obtain:

 

hager.jemel@edhec.edu