San Francisco, CA – February 26, 2019 – Professionals from over a hundred Silicon Valley companies such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Dropbox, Lyft, SurveyMonkey and Nextplay.ai will come together to mentor a hundred thousand female students/ recent grads this Women’s History Month, and this movement is spreading like wildfire globally and beyond tech.
Charu Sharma, a former LinkedIn employee, started Nextplay.ai two years ago to level the playing field at workplaces and today she helps companies such as Coca Cola, Splunk and Logitech build their internal mentorship programs at scale using AI. “Over and over again, I see the glass ceiling hitting women in their first job itself and the gender gap keeps compounding over time! As a woman myself, I constantly mentor early career women to give them the right exposure, confidence and resources, but this time, I wanted to leverage my expertise and networks to pay it forward at scale.”
Sharma asked her friends in the workforce to commit 30 minutes this March to share their career experiences with a mentee her company will match them to. #MeToo had an unforeseen backlash where a lot of men didn’t feel comfortable mentoring women, but this movement became the opportunity for allies to come forward and make a difference as well as for women to intentionally make time to help other women.
Charu’s friends recruited their friends, who in turn recruited their friends, and #Mentor100KWomen has thousands of mentors signed up in just a week. “We’re asking for just 30 minutes! It’s so easy to say yes to!”, says Sharma.
One of the mentors is Steve Cadigan, a leading talent advisor and LinkedIn’s former Head of HR. “Mentoring is something professionals should be doing all the time. When done right – mentoring benefits both parties and allows a safe forum to explore sensitive topics and realize great insights. I’m 100% sure I would not be where I am today without the help of countless mentors along the way, and hence I feel a strong compulsion to give back especially in areas of greatest interest and need,” said Steve.
If you’re interested in signing up, go to https://www.nextplay.ai/100k and take 2 minutes to fill out the sign-up form. Nextplay.ai will introduce you to a relevant match in March for a 30-min chat at your convenience.
This is a grassroots movement. Will you please help spread the word? Blurb to share on your social media:
“I just pledged 30 minutes to mentor a female student / recent grad this March with #mentor100kwomen. I encourage you to sign up as a mentor or mentee on www.nextplay.ai/100k #payitforward #IWD2019 #mentorship #nextplaymentoring”
Pay it Forward, #Mentor100kWomen
About Next Play, Inc.
NextPlay.ai is a Silicon Valley-based advanced AI technology company that helps companies such as Splunk, Logitech and Coca-Cola to grow and retain their talent at scale, while also fostering an inclusive culture. Their mobile app works with users to identify their career goals and preferences, matches mentees and mentors internally at scale, and guides employees to achieve their goals with timely nudges and reminders. HR directors gain insight into employee engagement data with Next Play’s breakthrough AI Technology. For more information, visit www.nextplay.ai.
