Women Educators in Mentoring

Partner from Greece: Greek Women Engineering Association (EDEM)

4th workshopSharing Experience ‘Final Conclusion & Good

Practices’Athens, 22-23 June 2012

Greek Women Engineering Association (EDEM)

• Established 1995

• Members: Qualified Greek Women Engineers (members of the Technical Chamber of Greece)

• Members ~1500

• Women engineers in Greece ~25000

Greek Women Engineering Association (EDEM)

Aims• Promote the principals and create provisions for equality between women and men

in employment, education and society in general. • Research into problems concerning women engineers and subsequently seek

solutions. • Co-operate with other organisations (both abroad and in Greece), which are involved

in similar issues. • Improve terms and conditions for women practising engineering as a profession.• Encourage community awareness on employment opportunities for women and

mainly of young women in the traditionally male dominated profession of engineering.

• Develop an information unit to support women engineers concerning employment opportunities in the labour market, according to specialised qualifications, training and their professional experience. This will be related to training and development programs aimed at enhancing women engineers’ chances of employment.

• Encourage and promote activities of women engineers beyond their professional sphere. These can include: artistic creation, cultural activities and improvement of quality of life in general.

Greek Women Engineering Association (EDEM)

Networks:• WITEC (European Association for Women in Science,

Engineering and Technology)• EPWS (European Platform of Women Scientists)• PERIKTIONI (Greek network of women scientists

working in Research Centers and Academia) • WOMENTOR (European Federation of mentoring for

girls & Women)

Official Greek gender equality agencies

• The General Secretariat for Gender Equality is the governmental agency competent to plan, implement, and monitor the implementation of policies on equality between women and men in all sectors.

• The Research Centre for Gender Equality (KETHI), a Legal Entity under Private Law, was founded in 1994. It conducts social research on gender equality issues and implement actions to improve women’s status and enable their advancement in all areas of political, economic and social life, within the framework of the policies defined by the General Secretariat for Equality. 

Greek Women Engineering Association (EDEM)

Recent Projects:1. Altener -Women And Renewable Energy Sources2. PREparing Female students for Academic Entrepreneurship (PREFACE)3. Creating Cultures of Success for Women Engineers (WOMENG)4. EQUAL Teleworking5. Tackling Stereotypes: Maximising the Potential of Women in SET6. EQUAL7. WOMENG: Successful careers for women engineers8. Mentoring projects:Win, MELLOW, Womentor, Womentor II, We:Mentor

New Project (1st June 2012):Women declare their role in the Environment Protection – Gender &

Environment 

Greek Women Engineering Association (EDEM)

Mentoring projects:• Mellow: Life long Mentoring of Women in and/or

towards technical jobs.• Win: Women in Network• WOMENTOR: European Federation of Mentoring

for girls & Women• WOMENTOR II• We:Mentor –Women Educators in Mentoring

(Sharing Experience)

Mentor-Mentee-MentoringIn Greek mythology, Mentor (Μέντωρ / Méntτr) was in his old age, a friend of Odysseus. When Odysseus left for the Trojan War he placed Mentor in charge of Telemachus, his son, and of his palace. Mentor was very old and tired man when Telemachus gets adult so Goddess Athena takes his face and advise Telemachus how to act to keep safe his father’s authority.

Mentor-Mentee-MentoringThis is the source of the modern use of the word

mentor:A trusted friend, counsellor or teacher, usually a

more experienced person. Today mentors provide their expertise to less

experienced individuals (mentees) in order to help them advance their careers, enhance their education, and build their networks.

Mentoring: The process of change and growth brought about by the interaction of two people, D. Clutterbuck and D. Megginson

EDEM’s experience

• Mentors have not only to be successful professionals, they must be willing to devote time to the mentee and enter the way of thinking of young people.

• Mentees have to understand that mentor is not the person to find them a job or solve all their problems.

• Both have to devote time to know each other and the talk sincerely.

• Mentee and mentor will gain self confidence after the meetings and became more conscious of their role in the society.

EDEM’s experience

• Greek society needs special actions to fight stereotypes and help girls and young women to draw a career according their talents and qualifications

• Mentoring is in the beginning in Greece• Girls and young women do not know where to

find someone to act like a mentor for them• Experienced women in general they are nor

conscious about the role they can play in the society

EDEM’s experience

• Girls and young women do not know where to ask for advice and support

• They cannot find easily an experienced woman in their sector/discipline to address

• They do not know how to take benefit of an experienced woman who wants to act like a mentor for them

• Sometimes they confuse the mentoring process with ‘admitting incapability’:

‘women are tough enough to fight with men’s rules’

We: Mentor -EDEM’s part

•Participation at the Sharing Experience Workshops (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 12trips, 10 women, 3 of them <30years).

•Hosting the 4th Workshop in Athens, June 22-23 2012.

• Dissemination of the project results so far : articles in websites in English and in Greek and via e-mail (table 1). Also facebook and linkedIn.

•Future Dissemination of the Final conclusions and Good Practices: articles in websites in English and in Greek and via e-mail (table1), presentations in Conferences, CD with ‘Final conclusions and Good Practices’ and additional material from the workshops.

Mentoring in the Future EDEM wants to :

• create a pilot group of mentors and mentees to act like a cell for the promotion of mentoring process in schools, universities and in the professional market.

•create a list of mentors for different professions to address young women when they ask for help/advice.

•Implement the experience shared during this project and the ‘Final Conclusions and Good practices’ in the new project ‘Women declare their role in the Environment Protection – Gender & Environment’. This project requires mentoring (coaching-counselling) for :

•Women Engineers to turn their carreers in the new Environmental fields of Engineering and

•School girls (1-2 years before final exams) to be open minded in choosing their studies and not exclude Engineering and especially environmental fields due to ignorance or professional and social stereotypes.