Navigate, thrive, and lead as a Woman of Colour in the workplace
WoCMentorWoC is a first-of-its-kind, pilot mentorship program designed by, for, and with Women of Colour.
The program is contextualised and speaks to the lived experiences of Women of Colour navigating a corporate work environment where they are often minoritised and racialised.
The program aims to support professional Women of Colour to:
- Advance their career
- Enhance their skills
- Build their network
- Provide a safe sounding board for advice and recommendations
Our purpose is to build a community of Women of Colour motivated, inspired by their peers, and ready to step into their power as changemakers and transformational leaders.
We aim to do this by creating a safe environment where bold and brave conversations can be had around the systemic challenges and structural barriers faced by professional Women of Colour in the workplace.
Brenda Gaddi
Founder & Managing Director
Women of Colour Australia
LinkedIn Changemaker
Program Overview
WoCMentorWoC is an online, six-month-long mentorship program supporting the professional development of Women of Colour across Australia.
The program incorporates bespoke curation of training and workshops for Women of Colour and includes sessions based on:
- Learning, understanding, and celebrating Aboriginal culture and history
- Holding courageous conversations around the challenges and barriers faced by professional Women of Colour in the workplace
- Honouring our lived experiences as Women of Colour
- Gaining peer-to-peer insights and guidance on how to navigate, thrive, and lead as a Woman of Colour in the professional sphere
- Connection and networking opportunities with the program cohort
To ensure meaningful engagement, the pilot program is capped at 40 participants; 20 mentees and 20 mentors, grouped into 2 pairs (10 mentees and 10 mentors in each group).
Training & Workshops
Meet the Workshop Facilitators
Jolleen Hicks
Founder & CEO
Aboriginal Insights
Jolleen Hicks is a proud Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Aboriginal woman. Jolleen has a background that covers successful Aboriginal Engagement with over twenty separate Aboriginal cultural groups in Australia; leadership; and business. Jolleen believes that Reconciliation cannot be achieved without understanding; recognition; and respect between Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people.
Elsa Tuet-Rosenberg
Co-Founder & Director
Hue: Colour the Conversation
Elsa Tuet-Rosenberg (she/her) is a queer, Jewish, and Chinese Woman of Colour. She is an activist, educator, facilitator, and performer, with a background in youth empowerment and social change. She recently completed her Social Work honours thesis exploring how Australian, multiracial People of Colour from multiple minority heritages engage with their ethnic identities.
Loma Cuevas-Hewitt
Facilitator & Consultant
Hue: Colour the Conversation
Loma Cuevas-Hewitt (she/they) lives on the banks of the Parramatta River, as well as in the borderlands of race, sexuality, and gender. Loma commenced her gender transition in mid-2019. Loma graduated with a PhD in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Western Australia in 2016.
Mentoring Sessions
In between the training and workshops, each mentee will have six 1:1 mentoring sessions with their paired mentor. The mentee will be provided with a Personal Development Plan (PDP) that will serve as a roadmap to meeting their goals and objectives. These sessions are an invaluable way to seek feedback, guidance, and advice from WoC senior leaders and experts in their fields. It is also an opportunity for the pair to unpack what they have both learned from the workshops and how they can use the knowledge and skills to advocate for themselves and effect meaningful change in their workplaces.
“Being mentored by a fellow Woman of Colour is a key priority to help support career development and progression.”
- Women of Colour in the Australian Workplace Survey, June 2021
Against a backdrop of well-known gender biases affecting women in Australia, the inaugural Women of Colour in the Australian Workplace Survey clearly demonstrate that Women of Colour need mentorship opportunities to navigate the distinctive challenges at the intersection of gender and race.
This program is especially useful for me and other Women of Colour in so many ways. It's about having a community of women standing with each other and for each other. I started my healing after finding the WoCA community and others that have shared lived experiences.
I believe this much-needed program will give the mentees and mentors the courage to dare to dream big and pursue their authentic paths.
Diana Omuoyo
WoCMentorWoC Program Inaugural Ambassador
Global Technology Solution Architect
Ms. World Universal 2022
Interested in the program?
A non-refundable, one-off $150.00 fee is charged to all program participants. The $150.00 co-contribution will help us cover some of the training and workshop costs. On average, the cost per person for each training and/or workshop is $200.00. We were fortunate to have secured a grant from Bank Australia to help fund the program. Thank you for your support. Please note that there is no fee charged to submit an interest.
MENTEES
The program is suitable for Women of Colour who are looking to grow, evolve, break free from oppressive mental mindsets and narratives to lead and succeed on their own terms.
MENTORS
The program is suitable for Women of Colour who want to give back and share their knowledge, expertise & experiences with their fellow WoC who need guidance in advocating for themselves in predominantly White ethnocentric workplaces.
Frequently asked questions
Wondering how the program works?
Dive into our FAQ for more details
For more information, email us wocmentorwoc@womenofcolour.org.au
When does the EOI close?
The EOIs will close EOD, Friday 14th October 2022How much is the program fee?
A non-refundable, one-off $150.00 fee is charged to all program participants. The $150.00 co-contribution will help us cover some of the training and workshop costs. On average, the cost per person for each training and/or workshop is $200.00. We were fortunate to have secured a grant from Bank Australia to help fund the program. Thank you for your support. Please note that there is no fee charged to submit an interest.Is there a cap on the number of program participants?
Yes, there is. To ensure meaningful engagement, the maximum number is capped at 40 participants 20 mentees, and 20 mentors. The participants will be divided into 2 groups; 20 paired mentee and mentor for each group.How long is the program?
The entire program will run for six months from November 2022 to April 2023.How long are the sessions for?
The first module, Cultural Awareness Training 101 delivered by Aboriginal Insights will run for 2 hours over 8 modules. You are given your own log in codes to access the sessions. It's on-demand so you can watch the clips for the whole month of November. The four sessions delivered by Hue are facilitated in real time. The schedule is below:Group 1
Session: Understanding Race & Racism 101
Time: Thursday, December 8, 2022, 9:30 AM - 1:00 PM AEST
Session: People of Colour: Power & Resilience
Time: Thursday, January 12, 2023, 9:30 AM - 1:00 PM AEST
Session: Deconstructing Whiteness
Time: Thursday, February 9, 2023, 9:30 AM - 1:00 PM AEST
Session: Navigating Whiteness in the Workplace
Time: Thursday, March 9, 2023 9:30 AM - 1:00 PM AEST
Group 2
Session: Understanding Race & Racism 101
Time: Tuesday, December 13, 2022, 9:30 AM - 1:00 PM AEST
Session: People of Colour: Power & Resilience
Time: Tuesday, January 17, 2023, 9:30 AM - 1:00 PM AEST
Session: Deconstructing Whiteness
Time: Tuesday, February 14, 2023, 9:30 AM - 1:00 PM AEST
Session: Navigating Whiteness in the Workplace
Time: Tuesday, March 14, 2023, 9:30 AM - 1:00 PM AEST
Can my employer sponsor me?
Yes, they absolutely can. We can share an official letter with you to submit to your employer. Just email us at wocmentorwoc@womenofcolour.org.au to receive your copy.
We exist to champion Australia’s Women of Colour through program of educations, community support initiatives, and advocacy work.
ORIGIN OF THE PHRASE "WOMEN OF COLOR"
"Women of Color is not a biological designation. It is a solidarity definition. A commitment to work in collaboration with other oppressed women of color who have been minoritized. It is a term that has a lot of power." Loretta Ross
WOMEN DEFINITION
Women - Transgender and cisgender, all those who experience or have experienced oppression as women, including non-binary and gender non-conforming people and all those who identify as women. Self-definition is at the discretion of the individual.
Definition credit: wire.org.au
WOMEN OF COLOUR LTD ACN 643 518 576 ABN 17 643 518 576 is an Australian Public Company Limited by Guarantee. We are a registered charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC).
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We acknowledge the Wallumattagal clan of the Darug nation as the Traditional Custodians of the land upon which Women of Colour Australia is situated. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present. We acknowledge and honour the strength and resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women with whom we stand in solidarity. We acknowledge that as settlers on this stolen Aboriginal land, we are beneficiaries of the dispossession, genocide, and ongoing colonial violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We believe that it is our collective responsibility and moral imperative to help dismantle the structural inequities and systemic barriers oppressing the original inhabitants of this land. We are also painfully aware that the land was taken forcibly, without a Treaty or reparations made. We have taken a practical step towards honouring sovereignty by paying the rent – and we invite you to do so too. This land is and always will be Aboriginal land. Sovereignty was never ceded.