Hand in Hand to the C-Suite

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Hand in Hand to the C-Suite

Amman, JordanThroughout the country, Jordan
Year Founded:
2013
Organization type: 
hybrid
Project Stage:
Idea
Budget: 
$10,000 - $50,000
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Project Summary
Elevator Pitch

Concise Summary: Help us pitch this solution! Provide an explanation within 3-4 short sentences.

Women are entering the workplace but are not often getting to senior management positions. This project aims at leveraging the few women that are in senior management positions to work hand in hand with other women in junior posts to help pave the way for them and streamline them to the C-suite.

WHAT IF - Inspiration: Write one sentence that describes a way that your project dares to ask, "WHAT IF?"

What if there were more women managing large businesses? What if there were more women in senior positions? What if there were more women on the
About Project

Problem: What problem is this project trying to address?

More women in senior positions improves corporate performance from a financial, operational and ethical perspective. Yet, there are not enough women in the C-suite. One of the causes for that is that not enough people support women to climb the corporate ladder. This project aims at targeting the young women about to enter the workplace and that already exist in the workplace but require support, mentorship and/or sponsorship to grow.

Solution: What is the proposed solution? Please be specific!

There are women that broke the glass ceiling and sit in the boardroom. Engaging these women to support at least one younger women in their organization to help her climb the corporate ladder will help break stereotypes and eventually make it easier for others to get there. Also, with such senior support women have a mentor and someone to fall back on for guidance and support in difficult situations be them social or work related. Also, if we get a chance to raise awareness on the importance of unity and support, this would help address various women issues in the workplace making it a more comfortable environment to work, succeed and excel for both women and men and in turn more corporate success.
Impact: How does it Work

Example: Walk us through a specific example(s) of how this solution makes a difference; include its primary activities.

In a local multinational managed by a majority of foreigners one highly skilled and motivated local women made it to the C-Suite against all odds - Samia. Samia performed exceptionally well and was highly regarded. She takes it upon herself to help other local women succeed. There is a younger women that just joined the organization that has consistently performed well, out shone others - Rana. Samia starts working with Rana to help her plan her career and goals. Rana feels more secure and satisfied at her job. When Rana feels social pressures or an unwelcoming environment although she tries to deal with them she resorts to Samia for advise and guidance. When the time comes, Samia helps Rana get the promotions she deserves.

Impact: What is the impact of the work to date? Also describe the projected future impact for the coming years.

Companies with 3 or more women in the boardroom improve performance (Mckenzie Survey). Accordingly, if we can work with women already in the boardroom to help other women get there too the impact would be two fold. On the one hand, more women empowerment in the workplace and influencing social change and behavior towards women and their ability and potential achievements. And on the other hand, improve corporate performance ensuring buy-in and sustainability from corporations and the business world.
Sustainability

Financial Sustainability Plan: What is this solution’s plan to ensure financial sustainability?

The financial investment in this program is the beginning. In the early stages, there needs to be research to reflect the positive economic gains of more senior women in the workplace and then communication. After that and once the program rolls out, there are no financial needs per se for it to continue.

Marketplace: Who else is addressing the problem outlined here? How does the proposed project differ from these approaches?

There are many organizations that work with women for economical empowerment and cultural and social change. However, I am not aware of any program that helps women from within organizations and that targets women reaching the boardroom. Most programs are based on skills (which is complementary to our goal) or increasing the number of women entering the workplace. We are trying to address the workplace environment to ensure that women succeed, excel and grow in the workplace creating an incentive for them to stay.
Team

Founding Story

I concluded several researches about women in the workplace and it appeared that although women are entering the workplace (albeit at lower numbers than they should be) many are not advancing enough which resulted in loss of incentive which resulted in giving up their career, financial empowerment at the first option i.e. marriage, child birth Accordingly, it became clear that if women had a career path supported by someone from the C-suite and had a women to support them from within they are more likely to remain in the workplace and progress to senior positions With that there would be a ripple effect i.e. more women satisfied in work so they stay, more women will be able to help more women and gradually changing the social perception.

Comments

Why is that women tend to not help other women?