MENTORING PROGRAMME
Women’s mentoring programme: accelerate careers, transform your corporate culture
Women’s mentoring: a powerful lever for business
At a time when achieving gender balance in the workplace remains a challenge, women’s mentoring is emerging as a strategic, people-centred tool for accelerating gender equality at work.
Through a structured mentoring programme, women receive bespoke support tailored to their ambitions, constraints and career journeys. Far from taking a one-size-fits-all approach, this type of mentoring recognises that every path is unique and provides a trusted space in which to develop leadership, gain visibility and confidently take the next steps.
Our support covers both design and implementation:
Build a tailored mentoring programme
We work with you to define objectives, structure mentor–mentee pathways, and shape the programme around your HR priorities and diversity & inclusion goals.
Support mentors and mentees
We prepare participants for meaningful and committed relationships through awareness of gender bias and training on effective mentoring practices.
Measure and optimise impact
We provide ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and program adaptation to ensure maximum impact on individuals, the organisation, and the advancement of gender balance.
“Companies that invest in structured mentoring programs see tangible results: mentees gain confidence and motivation, mentors report greater engagement, and the organisation moves toward more inclusive behaviours.”
Source: Diafora programme feedback (5,600 mentoring pairs supported)
Target audience & format
- Mentees: Based on your priorities — mixed-gender groups of high potentials or women-only talent groups Mentors: Senior executives or top management (including Executive Committee members)
- Available in French or English
- Delivered in-person or remotely
Interested in launching a mentoring program?
Contact us to co-design an effective, customised mentoring experience.
Why is mentoring a strategic lever for gender equality at work?
Workplace inequalities between women and men are not inevitable: they are constructed and can therefore be dismantled. Mentoring is one of the most effective tools for doing so.
By connecting women with experienced mentors, both men and women, mentoring directly addresses the most common barriers: limited networks, imposter syndrome and low visibility within organisations. It creates a structured space to build self-confidence, assert leadership and access opportunities that too often remain confined to informal male networks.
Research confirms this impact: according to a study published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior, women who receive mentoring are significantly more likely to reach leadership positions and report higher job satisfaction than those who do not.
What mentoring unlocks: unwritten rules, networks, self-confidence…?
Joining an organisation also means learning an invisible language: its unwritten rules, the networks that matter, when to speak up, and when to assert yourself. Many women discover these unwritten rules too late, or have to work them out alone.
This is precisely what a mentoring programme unlocks.
By supporting each woman over time, mentoring provides access to what no job description explains: how to navigate an organisation, build visibility and turn ambition into a tangible career path. It also addresses what happens internally, that quiet voice that doubts, downplays achievements and waits for permission to move forward.
Our approach: a bespoke programme, from the Executive Committee to mentees and mentors
The mentor–mentee relationship is built within a framework that is both formal and structured, with a methodology, rules and objectives, and informal, with no reporting relationship and the development of a human connection in which dialogue and reciprocity, even if unequal, are central.
Diafora’s support is essential and includes:
– Executive Committee/sponsor awareness and onboarding
– Defining the arrangements and implementing the programme (selection, invitations and matching)
– Mentoring training for mentees and mentors, taking account of the impact of gender differences – Creating programme materials (tools, mentoring guide, mentor–mentee meetings, etc.)
– Programme evaluations and feedback
The link between mentoring and cross-company training: Diafora’s integrated approach
We recommend that mentees take part in targeted Diafora cross-company training when the programme launches, or beforehand.
These pathways provide a structured framework that complements the mentoring programme and helps overcome recurring barriers to women’s career progression, such as demonstrating value beyond technical expertise and positioning themselves within power dynamics and management visibility.
By bringing together participants from different sectors and companies, these courses provide a unique mirror effect, helping them move beyond an overly individual interpretation of the obstacles they face. This cross-pollination encourages perspective, sparks inspiration and opens up new opportunities for progression.
Alongside mentoring, this dynamic accelerates mentees’ ability to set clear objectives, address more strategic issues with their mentor and assess their career path more clearly.
Combined with mentoring, this approach maximises programme impact, encourages swift, practical insights and strengthens the move to action.
What are the benefits of a mentoring programme?
– Promote lasting gender balance by taking concrete action on the levers that give female talent access, visibility and confidence to envisage progression
– Support talent development and career progression by decoding the organisation’s unwritten rules and broadening models of success and leadership
– Encourage the sharing of experience and strategic knowledge in a safe space for discussion
– Strengthen corporate culture and a sense of belonging by developing trusted relationships across the organisation and embodying inclusive values
– Build intergenerational and cross-functional connections by breaking down silos and expanding internal professional networks
Q/A: Women's Leadership with Mentoring Programme
What is a women’s mentoring programme?
It is a structured initiative that connects talented women (mentees) with experienced leaders (mentors, often from the Executive Committee or senior management) to accelerate their professional development, decode the organisation’s unwritten rules and strengthen their confidence and ambition. Unlike a simple introduction, a structured programme defines a framework, objectives, roles and follow-up,making it a genuine lever for transformation.
How does women’s mentoring improve gender balance in the workplace?
By acting on three levers simultaneously: access to opportunities (mentees become more visible within talent pools), career aspirations (they are more likely to apply for leadership roles) and management culture (mentors develop a more inclusive approach). It is a worthwhile investment for women, teams and the organisation.
Who are the mentors in a Diafora programme?
Mentors come from the Executive Committee, senior management or the client company’s leadership teams. Diafora provides awareness-raising and training in mentoring best practice and gender
How does Diafora design a bespoke mentoring programme?
We work with you to define objectives, identify priority groups (female talent and mixed-gender high-potential talent), structure mentor–mentee pathways and align the programme with your existing HR and diversity policies. Every programme is tailored to your corporate culture and strategic priorities.
What tangible results does a Diafora mentoring programme deliver?
Across 5,600 supported pairs: mentee satisfaction is 9.0/10, the recommendation score is 9.2/10, and 100% of participants took concrete action following the programme. These results come from analysis of 2025 post-programme feedback.
How long does a mentoring programme last?
- Diafora programmes are designed to run over time — generally between 6 and 12 months, allowing a genuinely trusted relationship to develop and delivering measurable effects on career paths. We agree the duration with you based on your objectives and HR cycles.
Does mentoring benefit mentors too?
- Absolutely. Mentor feedback is unanimous: the mentoring relationship develops their own inclusive approach, gives them a fresh perspective on the organisation and enriches their leadership. Mentors learn as much from their mentees as they pass on, what our participants call ‘mutual benefit’.
Should mentoring be combined with training?
Diafora strongly recommends it. Mentees who receive targeted cross-company training when the programme launches, or beforehand, progress significantly faster. Training provides the tools and confidence; mentoring embeds what they learn in the reality of the organisation.
How do you start a mentoring programme with Diafora?
Contact us for an initial scoping discussion. Together, we analyse your challenges, priority groups and corporate culture before proposing a programme architecture. Every Diafora programme is unique, because every organisation is unique.
We also offer...
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Share the tools and insights to advance gender balance in day-to-day management.
MIX & MATTER Workshops
Train experts and managers – both men and women – to translate diversity into concrete action.
Gender Diversity Conferences
Interactive conferences to understand, get involved, and take action.
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