A message from Maureen Frank

emberin’s my mentor program for women continues to be taken up by Australia’s leading companies with resounding success.  This is our 10 week CD/DVD and Workbook based career development and life empowerment program for women.  The results have been phenomenal, with one client reporting that 20% of women who participated had been promoted within the 10 weeks of the program AND a total of 30% had been promoted within three months of the program. The latest rollouts include The Commonwealth Bank, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, the Australian Logistics Council, ANZ, Stockland, Department of Natural Resources and Water, Connell Wagner, ING Australia, Suncorp, Telstra and British American Tobacco.  

And all this in just 10 weeks! The program is run over 10 weeks and the ladies form ‘peer mentoring’ groups – these have been highly successful. We have also had ladies who have chosen to do the program on their own – and that has been just as successful. Why not have a sneak preview.

Participants of the my mentor program have started to reap the benefits of their new found empowerment.  Here are some inspiring testimonials from some of our recent graduates.

“I now have belief in myself. I’m making myself more visible in my work area and have explicitly sought feedback on my work. I’m now more accepting of the feedback I receive and am building it into my career goals. I’m also proactively seeking development opportunities."

“my mentor challenged me to really look at myself in ways that I have never thought of and provide me with some tools as to how to improve.  It provided me with a foundation of ways to look at different situations, speak with people and grow more as a person professionally as well as personally." 

“I have learnt how to step out of my comfort zone and ask for the things that I want with a win-win situation for me as well as my employer; which I have already had good outcomes with.  I have also learnt that positive thoughts really create positive outcomes."

Other news:

• Just a reminder to all of you inspiring women that I will be in India next week at NASSCOM launching my mentor – challenging Indian women to step up.  With me at the launch will be the Global Head of Diversity for Pricewaterhousecoopers, Cleo Thompson, and emberin’s General Manager, Leisa Higgins.  Leisa and I will be in India (Bangalore and Delhi) until November 26 and will be available to meet with organisations who are interested in piloting the my mentor India program. If you are interested in discussing a pilot, please contact me on magic@emberin.com.au  or contact Tasneem Nakhoda who is based out of Interweave’s office on   tasneemnakhoda@interweave.in  I would be more than happy to meet with you and explain the program in detail.

• We would like to congratulate Telstra in being the first company in the world to look at gender diversity in a unique way – focusing on assisting men with their journey in understanding the differences between the genders.  emberin is proud to have been able to work with Telstra in the creation of a program in the same style as our women’s program – My Mentor – Challenging Women to Step Up. The program is exclusively available to men at Telstra for now.  In 2009, Emberin will be launching a version of this which is more broadly available – so please let us know if you would like some information when it is available.

• The Global Advancement of Women conference was held in Johannesburg in August. The conference was run by Working Mother Magazine (USA based magazine with readership of over two million).   Chosen by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) Global to be the only Australian speaker at the conference, Maureen Frank shared the podium with the US Ambassador to South Africa and the Deputy Prime Minister of South Africa on the subject of mentoring for women.

• It is a revelation to see that Australia’s top government job has been filled by a woman, however it is saddening to hear that on the other hand if you are a mother in the public service, on the whole, your career is limited.  Government research has revealed that women who take maternity leave are less likely to be promoted in Australia's public service than those without children.

emberin is growing and we’re pleased to be able to introduce you to all of our team:

Maureen Frank – Managing Director    
Leisa Higgins – General Manager
Anita Caulfield – Director, Strategy and Operations
Annie Muras – Office Manager
Sherryl Caulfield – Consultant 

If you have any questions, please contact me any time at magic@emberin.com.au.

Take care and talk soon!