Mentoring, Millennials, & #MeToo

Journey to Esquire: The Blog

Mentoring, Millennials, &
#MeToo

by Joseline J. Hardrick  on October 18, 2019.

By now you've heard about the #MeToo Movement, and the consequences it has left behind in its wake. Several high profile men stand accused of some form of inappropriate behavior of a sexual nature. Some have withstood the accusations, others have accepted and admitted them, still others continue to deny any wrongdoing. But one consequence can have long standing negative effects on the growth of professional women, and that is the fear some men feel that prevents or hinders their ability to mentor women in the workplace. 

Survey Monkey and LeanIn.org  conducted a survey that found that 60% of those surveyed hesitate to commit to alone time with female colleagues, particularly outside of work. It also found that “[a] full 60% of male managers say they are uncomfortable engaging in common workplace interactions with women, including mentoring, socializing, and having one-on-one meetings—up 14 percentage points from last year.”
Further, as Forbes noted in a recent article, “the new trend of men playing it safe around women comes at a time when the number of female chief executives is falling, and when progress toward increasing gender equity in upper management appears to have stalled.” 

How do we continue to train up students, men,  and women, to become lawyers who lead mentor and inspire, with this trend?

As the survey noted, “[r]eal solutions are possible, and companies are moving in the right direction.” The strategies include law firms, in-house counsel offices, government agencies and other traditional legal employers addressing the issue head on, amending workplace interaction policies and assuring employees and managers that they encourage mentoring in all its forms.  For more ideas check out Brad Johnson and David Smith’s Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women.
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If your organization wants to start a mentoring program, here’s a great survey template to start assessing the needs and desires of your team. And SurveyMonkey offers free Diversity and Inclusion surveys to guide the process. Happy mentoring! 

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Scholar Profile ​

Meet the Journey to Esquire: Scholarship & Leadership Program
​ Class of 2020

From Stetson University College of Law: Justin Bell, Forest Sutton, Ana Lleonart

From WMU- Cooley Law School - Marcia Frith, Adriana Laforest, Kishnee Theus

Congratulations to the new scholars of our Journey to Esquire: Scholarship & Leadership Program!

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Guest Speaker Highlights!

Special thanks to our guest speakers! In these past weeks, we have had the opportunity to host guest speakers at both our Lawyer Wellness and Bar Prep Modules. At our Bar Prep Module, we hosted Jemima Pierrie Zetrenne, who is both a Journey to Esquire Program alum and a WMU-Cooley Law School alum. She shared some very beneficial tips on how to approach studying for the bar exam with our students. At our Lawyer Wellness Module, we hosted Mandi Clay of Three Thirteen Law and Sarah Lahlou-Amine of Banker Lopez Gassler, who both gave a lot of wisdom and insight as to wellness. 

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Thank you to our “JD” Level Sponsors:

U.S. District Courts: Middle District of Florida Bench Bar Fund

Agape Christian Bar Preparation Services, Inc.

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Diversity Access Pipeline, Inc.
PO Box 173044, Tampa, FL 33672

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