Connecting women leaders around the world through mentorship. A historic 174 Global Mentoring Walks will take place in 62 countries around the world in spring 2019.
The Global Mentoring Walks are an opportunity to highlight the importance of women’s leadership and to accelerate the impact of women leaders through mentoring. Women who are mentored are more likely to become mentors themselves, paying forward the investment made in them by empowering even more women to be successful
leaders.
Vital Voices engages our Global Leadership Network each year through the Global Mentoring Walks, convening established and emerging women leaders to walk together in their communities. As they walk, each established leader guides, advises and supports an emerging leader as they discuss personal and professional challenges and triumphs. The Global Mentoring Walks activate the potential of the Vital Voices Global Leadership Network.
WHAT IS MENTORING?
Mentoring is a unique relationship in which an experienced and successful person serves as a role model, and guides and facilitates another person to make progress in her professional and/or personal life. In addition to giving advice and sharing one’s experience, a mentor provides inspiration and encouragement, helping the mentee find a way to achieve her objectives, and facilitates access to resources that maybe helpful.
A VITAL VOICES GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE
The Global Mentoring Walk is an initiative launched by Vital Voices Global Partnership, a nonprofit organization that invests in women leaders who improve the world. Founded by then First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, and guided by the belief that women are essential to progress in their communities, Vital Voices has partnered with leaders from more than 140 countries who advance economic opportunity, increase political and public leadership, and end violence against women.
For more than 20 years, Vital Voices has identified women who understand that power expands the moment it’s shared, and who choose to leverage their leadership for collective progress. Across cultures and generations, Vital Voices has seen that women leaders have a natural inclination to share talent, experience and power.
The Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walks embody this resolve to pay it forward.
Vital Voices believes that mentoring is a critical activity in empowering women to succeed as leaders and creating opportunities for women on a local scale. Guided by this belief, it launched the Global Mentoring Walks in 2008.
STORY
This global movement began with one women’s effort to share her knowledge and experience with aspiring women leaders. Geraldine Laybourne, Founder and former CEO of Oxygen Media, responded to requests for advice from young women by inviting them to meet her for a morning walk. It became a routine for Laybourne, and an invaluable opportunity for women who wanted to learn from her experience and perspective. A longtime friend of and board member for Vital Voices, Laybourne introduced the concept to leaders of our Global Leadership Network, who in 2008 took the idea to their home countries and coordinated the first annual Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walks. Since then, more than 550 Walks have been coordinated in over 80 countries around the world.
