Darshana Joshi, founder of Vigyanshaala, a non-profit organization focused on science, technology, and learning, credits her success in her career to her mentors. Hailing from a family of farmers, she is the first generation to complete her education. Her selection into the Udayan Shalini Fellowship run by a Delhi based NGO for girls from poor socio-economic backgrounds and later a chance encounter with a mentor scientist led her to complete a doctoral degree in Physics from the University of Cambridge.

Joshi was part of a panel discussion I hosted a few weeks ago on the sidelines of the United Nations’ 9th multi-stakeholder forum on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for the Sustainable Development Goals. Our panel focused on building ecosystems of support for gender equality in STEM. In addition to Joshi, panelists included Reena Dayal, Founder and CEO of Quantum Ecosystems and Technology Council of India and Maneesh Paul, Founder of Microvioma.

All three of our panelists shared that mentoring was a critical component of accelerating gender equality in STEM.

Joshi said, “I have been fortunate to have been mentored by fantastic men and women at various stages of my life. When your background doesn't have the privilege of access to opportunities and support networks, your mentors become the enablers helping you push open new doors and scale unimaginable territories. My dreams, ambitions and achievements all would have been way smaller had it not been for the mentors who came at various stages of my life. Through my work at VigyanShaala I now aim to pay it forward and enable such mentor-mentee partnerships for 1 Million women globally”.

India has a large enrolment of women in STEM education (43%) and has one of the largest STEM job markets. However there continues to be a gender gap in the job market with women comprising just 27% of the STEM workforce in India and only 19% of scientists are women. There are still many sociocultural and caretaking barriers that prevent women from entering, thriving and leading in the workforce, but mentoring can help.

Dayal shared how one of the women on her staff decided to quit out of the blue. It only took a 30-minute mentoring meeting to understand her reasons and share strategies to handle the challenges. The tips helped and she stayed on the team.

Mentoring emerged as a critical game changer in accelerating gender equality in STEM from our discussion and well as in our own work at Red Dot Foundation. Over the last three years, we have mentored 350 girls in STEM.

Some other insights from our panel discussion include:

• “If she can do it, so can I”. Often a career in STEM might seem intimidating to young people. Mentors are role models who might be able to demystify these subjects and make it an interesting option for girls. Further just seeing a woman leader might inspire young girls to follow in her footsteps. As a Women Techmaker I am part of a community of women leaders encouraging young girls to thrive in STEM careers.
• Goal setting is a critical activity in the mentoring process. Clarifying and identifying short-term and long-term goals help make the mentoring relationship focused and useful. Often in the Indian context, the goal might not even be about career aspirations but rather the ability to speak English confidently which in itself opens up many opportunities.
• Good matchmaking of mentors and mentees is key to the successful relationship. Every person is unique, as biologist Maneesh Paul said. Therefore it helps if the mentor can be empathetic to the needs and socio-cultural background of the mentee. It helps in recommending practical steps to achievement of the goals. Many of our mentor-mentee pairs through Red Dot Foundation continue to be friends for life, exchanging life updates and seeking advice.
• It is not enough to encourage youth and girls to take up STEM subjects. It is absolutely important to also encourage them to bring their whole selves to whatever they do. Poetry, music, art can add creativity and innovation to STEM. On a recent visit to MIT Media Lab in Boston I witnessed the many exciting pathbreaking innovations developed by multi-disciplinary teams. One such one was a tactile fabric created by an artist.
• It is important to scale and sustain these mentoring programs so that a maximum number of people can take advantage of it. Joshi has created an open-source curriculum that has been piloted successfully in several Indian states. Corporates like Ramboll Engineering are making mentoring part of their internal volunteering efforts. In addition to mentoring, they also have site visits for young girls to witness and see what STEM jobs look like.
• The government should be a partner in such programs as they can take it to scale. Dayal said that she has successfully approached the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, and they have offered their Manthan platform to showcase and connect. But it is up to individuals to make the most of these opportunities.
• Paul recommended we also mentor men specifically to adopt a more gender sensitive mindset. This is needed in today’s business environment where diversity could drive creativity and innovation and inclusion allows for everyone to bring their whole selves to work. In addition, as mentors to women, men might learn to listen more and understand the unique challenges women face, thereby increasing their empathy and sensitivity.

Much may have been said about mentoring but not much action has been taken to implement it at scale and in a sustainable manner. The time is now. Let’s mentor to bridge the gender gap and create ecosystems of support.

ElsaMarie DSilva is the Founder of Red Dot Foundation and President of Red Dot Foundation Global. She can be followed on twitter @elsamariedsilva