Chic Geek’s Mentorship Program
The Cause
At Chic Geek, we want to encourage more women to be builders who leverage technology to shape the world we live in. We do that by creating a welcoming, supportive community for women exploring the intersection of technology and entrepreneurship.
Since 2013, Chic Geek has been running events and programs that help women build confidence in their technology skills, meet other like-minded women and step up to be leaders, role-models and mentors. Chic Geek serves the community by providing opportunities for women to learn new skills.
Our great idea is to expand and improve the Chic Geek Mentorship Program. The program is a supportive, inclusive place where women discover themselves, build confidence, and find their tribe. It facilitates personal, professional and technical development for women exploring technology and entrepreneurship. The six-month mentorship program begins with thoughtful matching that takes into account an online application, in-person chemistry and personal preferences. It includes: bi-monthly group meetings facilitated by Chic Geek, external speakers that are ideal for collaboration; online resources to facilitate conversation and personal development; and a supportive community of like-minded mentors and mentees.
Who Will it Benefit?
In 2017, we ran almost 50 events and had over 800 women, youth and men participate. We count over 500 people on our regular mailing list and 2,000 people in our social media networks. Chic Geek is built on the passion and dedication of more than 40 volunteers, who donate over 3,000 hours of their time annually.
The skills and confidence women have built at Chic Geek resonate in their lives, outside of our organization. In a community survey we conducted, women in our community said:
“Chic Geek has helped me build a network of fellow driven females who also work in the technology community.”
“Being involved with Chic Geek has made me better at my job. I’m able to understand the technical jargon that has become a daily part of my work.”
“Being involved in Chic Geek has encouraged me to pursue my long put-off dream of becoming a web designer.”
“Chic Geek is important in our community because it creates a bond and a stage for women to discover the importance of coding and how to contribute to the society through incessant learning.”
What makes our mentorship program great is that both mentors and mentees (women and men) benefit from the program. Mentors develop a positive and lasting relationship with their mentee; give back to their community and support diversity in tech and entrepreneurship; further develop their own skills as they teach their mentee; and grow their professional network as they get to know other mentors and mentees.
Mentees learn a new skill or project of their choice; network and get to know other participants; and grow professionally and personally by participating in monthly group workshops/presentations.