Mentoring to drive women's empowerment at the workplace is essential in order to strengthen the position and increase the reach of businesswomen in the Middle East and North Africa region, Nabil Habayeb, GE's President & Chief Executive Officer for the Middle East, North Africa & Turkey, said at the MENA Businesswomen's Network Forum 2012 organized in Dubai recently. "Workplaces with diverse teams function more effectively. When men and women bring their individual strengths to the table, the entire performance of the company is enhanced. Empowering women to realize their true potential is the most effective pathway for regional transformation, and in this strengthening the participation of women in both private and public sector roles is important. Our objective is to create a robust pipeline of women leaders, a goal we are driving through our HR Diversity initiatives and Women's Network," he sadi. Addressing the MENA Businesswomen's Network Forum at a session on "Transforming a Region Through Mentoring," Joe Chalouhi, HR Director of GE Energy, underlined the path-breaking role that the company's Women's Network, established in 1997, plays in encouraging group mentoring through "My Connections" program - GE's uniquely structured group mentoring model. Chalouhi said: "Mentoring is part of our organizational DNA and we have taken it further through the Women's Network, which has a strong operational base in the MENAT region. Mentorship is most effective when it becomes a natural process – most leaders have mentors who provided them the right guidance throughout their career. While mentoring is one of the approaches for women's development in GE, we support their participation and career progression through a number of approaches including the Women in Leadership program which entails improved competitive work practices, engaging middle managers, training programs as well as executive sponsors and mentoring." GE's Women in Leadership program looks at the top performers in a managerial role and defines for them mentors. They are then given six-month long assignments and external coaches aimed at enhancing their soft skills and 'brand'. This, in turn, helps in attaining measurable steps of progress achieved through mentoring, he added. GE's Women's Network in the MENAT is all about growth and brings together more than 500 women working at GE to cultivate their leadership skills, business practices, personal contacts and career opportunities. Mentoring is one of the key functions of the Women's Network in addition to sharing experiences, best practices and knowledge of successful women role models.
