The National Association of Women in Operations (NAWO) has launched the Victorian Mentee Sponsorship Program as part of its national flagship Mentoring Program.
The Victorian Mentee program, funded by the Victorian Office for Women, has been designed to support and develop the careers of women working in the state’s manufacturing and energy sectors. It is part of its the Women in Manufacturing and Women in Energy Strategies.
For the first time, NAWO is offering sponsored places for the Victorian cohort, specifically for women working in manufacturing and energy sectors. It includes both group and individual mentoring:
Four mentor circles from both industries – 25 women mentees matched with five experienced operations leaders;
One mentor circle for energy industry experience – women not currently working in energy but who are keen to; and
Five one-to-one mentoring opportunities for women in energy or manufacturing matched with five experienced operations leaders.
The Victorian Mentee Sponsorship Program is also available to all women working in Victorian manufacturing and energy, not just from NAWO’s 85-plus member companies.
NAWO CEO Louise Weine said, “Over the last 10 years, NAWO’s Mentoring Program has mentored more than 750 women and inspired them to pursue successful careers in operations.
“As NAWO’s reach and corporate membership grows, it’s very exciting to have this significant support from the Victorian Office for Women to provide sponsored places in 2024 for women in manufacturing and energy.”
Since its introduction in 2010, NAWO’s Mentoring Program has been increasing participants year on year.
Weine said that in 2024, the program will enhance and broaden its offering and delivery, reach, and mentor more women in operations nationally, and better measure the program’s impact.
“We have worked with the Victorian Office for Women previously, including the Inclusion Habits for Operations Leaders pilot program in 2022 and this year’s Women in Energy & Manufacturing Case Studies Series,” Weine said.
The Office for Women is part of the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing. It continues to support the work of NAWO as part of the Victorian Government’s strategies to increase women’s participation in the manufacturing and energy sectors.
In 2022, the Victorian government released the recommendations from its Inquiry into Economic Equity for Victorian Women.
Recommendation 19 was to “develop new industry strategies to attract, recruit and retain women in majority-men industries”. The government said it would deliver strategies that would “focus on supporting, upskilling and mentoring women, while removing barriers in these historically male-dominated workforces”.
Weine said the mentoring program supported that strategy and could offer mentee places for women in these sectors in Victoria, as well as provide sponsored places for women not currently working in the sectors but are interested in gaining direct mentoring from energy and manufacturing operations leaders.
