Elevating First-Time Female Voices on Stage
summary
A company-run six-month mentorship engine pairs novice-only applicants with experienced mentors matched by domain and time zone, uses a double-blind Technical Advisory Committee for architecture- and evidence-focused review, and enforces a high technical bar. Over three years the program grows to ~50 applicants in year three, 38 paired novices and 24 internal presenters; alumni start submitting to external CFPs and return as mentors. Playbooks and AI practice tools (e.g., Gemini) support iterations; the blueprint measurably converts hesitation into repeatable speaking outcomes.
AI-written summary · about
chapters (12)
- 0:00Introduction to talk
- 1:06Personal story and passion
- 3:36Challenges for first-time speakers
- 6:05Mentorship program concept
- 7:53Call for mentors and speakers
- 10:51Six-month mentorship process
- 15:02Testing the program's hypothesis
- 20:35Q&A on mentorship and confidence
- 24:30First-time speaker tips
- 27:42Program improvements and feedback
- 29:29Motivating mentors and scaling
- 30:35Closing and Q&A summary
related talks
21mWomen in Power on Allyships
51mMentorship Myths & Mistakes
37mImpactful mentorship - 2 sides of a story
01h 02mImpactful Mentorship
31mThe Mentor Playbook
49mWomen In Tech: Lifting as We Climb
23mMentoring that actually changes careers
36mScaling Non-Traditional Contributor Mentoring Initiatives - Paris Pittman, Google