10 days to go to the Engineering mentoring program application deadline of 17 June.
Last night I was on a conference call
with lots of Sun people from Asia Pacific (Singapore, Australia, Korea…) to give a SEED
program overview and answer questions. I think it went well. As usual, the HR folks wanted
exceptions to the service and seniority criteria, and deadline extensions. As usual, I
explained (in the words of the FAQ):
-
Suggestions for SEED program change are very welcome and should go to Katy Dickinson.
Please review the “Mentor Selection Process” and “Participant Selection Process” before
making detailed or large scale change suggestions. The SEED program staff uses
sigma methods to refine and improve
itself from term to term. As the program has evolved over the last few years, there have
been several
sigma projects associated with it.
The application and selection processes in particular are often under discussion and
have been improved and better targeted many times already since the program started in
2001. However, these process and criteria changes must take place between application
periods so as to be fair to all current applicants.
There have been 17 Recent Hire and 29 Established Staff applications so far. Applicants
come from the Bay Area CA USA (20), Shanghai China (1), Boston area MA USA (3),
Beijing China (7), Guangzhou China (1), Bangalore India (5), Los Angeles CA USA (1),
Broomfield CO USA (2), Herzelia Israel (1), Dallas TX USA (1), Columbia MD USA (1),
and Camberley UK (2). Even after 5 years of creating and managing this program, I find
making personal connections between superb contributors who work in such far flung
places very exciting.
We had our monthly SEED world-wide phone-in meeting this morning featuring two women who
both started in the USA but one was working in China and the other England when they
were mentoring partners. As is common, they have continued their communication far
beyond the actual SEED term. It is always fascinating to hear how much the SEED pairs
get out of their conversations and how they solve the always-challenging barriers of
time, culture, and distance. One discussion topic this morning was how important it was
to the mentee that she have a female mentor.
SEED Mentor Gender Patterns was one of the slides I presented at the October 2004
Hopper conference:
- Women Participants are more likely to ask for women Mentors.
- 19% Women Mentors were requested
- Women Participants requested 32% women potential Mentors while male Participants requested 14% women potential Mentors.
- Women Mentors are more likely to accept women Participants as mentees.
Half of the women Mentors chose to mentor other women.- 16% Women Mentors were matched
- 51% Women Mentors accepted women Participants while 20% men Mentors accepted women Participants.
- Gender is one of many considerations.
- Others include: availability when asked, accomplishments, experience, personality, capabilities or skills, common intellectual or professional interests, personal compatibility and commonality, & physical or time zone proximity.
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