Growing up across different cultures and countries – India, Mexico, United Arab Emirates, and the United States – equipped me with a global mindset from an early age. By the time I was 16, I witnessed India’s booming economy that struggled with poverty, Mexico’s developing economy that struggled with drugs, and the United Arab Emirate’s riches and comforts that struggled with women’s equality. Throughout all my travels, I’ve witnessed that irrespective of geography, girls face similar issues worldwide, and continue to remain on unequal footing — and that’s something that needs to change. While women are more empowered today, we are far behind where we need to be. In 2017, driven to find a tangible way to support women, I co-founded a global mentorship program- all in seven days. Girls from all over the world applied to the program and were paired with badass female leaders. We hosted a speaker series to learn from inspiring women. We shared awkward moments, insecurities, fights with our parents. We talked about how to get into college, how to build a killer resume, what feminism means to us. We watched inspiring TED Talks, started bullet journals, and planned our visions for the year. We supported each other.
Today, girls in our program represent over 73 different countries. Our mentors hail from Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, India, Argentina, Jamaica, Canada, Morocco, the United Kingdom, and dozens of other countries. From the thousands of applications we receive there’s a common thread – they’re driven to build a better world for women. Mentorship is a two-way interaction, whether you are mentoring or being mentored. Through both interactions, mentorship has the ability to open doors. By stepping through these new doors, we’re able to see new opportunities and possibilities that elevate us and accelerate our own growth. We believe that education and mentorship provide immeasurable access to resources that most cannot find in everyday institutions. Within our own mentorship program, we strive to provide girls with the motivation, confidence, and an extended community of women to gain new skills. We’re strengthening the visibility and collective voices of girls on a global scale. When you ask the question “what does mentorship mean to you”, you’ll find varying answers. For me, mentorship allows us to build a community of women who are driven to support and empower each other. As we continue to look at news headlines from around the world, we know there’s a lot more work ahead of us to build a more equal world for women. So, with our heads held high and a deep sense of urgency, we’re marching towards the future we want.
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