Careers: new project pairs teenage girls with female mentors

A new mentorship programme which pairs adolescent girls around Ireland with professional female mentors has been launched by The Shona Project, a not-for-profit organisation who aim to create a support system for young girls.

Among the businesses announced taking part in the first year of the programme are Allianz, CBRE, Fitzgerald Power, McCann Fitzgerald, Salesforce, &Smyth Creative Communications and VHI.

The companies will supply a total of 26 professional mentors who will be paired with a teenage girl from schools around the country until the end of this school year.

The Shona Project is on track to reach almost 190,000 girls across Ireland through their workshops, events, and other projects during the 2024-25 academic year.

Three leading advocates

The development of the initiative was supported by three leading Irish businesswomen, Oonagh O’Hagan, founder and managing director of Meaghers. Lucy Gaffney, director of Women’s Aid and Eva Pau, commercial director of The Asia Market.

The programme, which runs over a nine-month period, will see the students having seven sessions with their assigned mentor. Each mentor will receive the training and tools to help provide the best possible outcomes for each girl they are paired with.

Schools taking part in this year’s programme include Comeragh College, Tipperary, Presentation Secondary School, Waterford, Presentation Secondary School, Kilkenny, Presentation College Carlow and Coláiste Mhuire Askeaton, Co Limerick.

Benefits of a mentor

Research has shown mentoring can result in better academic performance, better school attendance and a decreased likelihood of initiating illegal drug and alcohol use, according to Tammy Darcy, founder and CEO of The Shona Project.

“It has also been linked in studies to social-emotional development benefits, improvements in youth perceptions of parental relationships, and better prospects for moving on to higher education,” says Tammy.

The aim is to continue to grow the mentorship programme and match inspirational professional role models with girls to help support them through their teenage years.

By facilitating connections between adolescent schoolgirls and women in the workplace, The Shona Project hopes that girls will have an increased understanding of career options, journeys, and experiences of women in the workplace.

The organisation also believes it will result in increased career aspirations, an expanded network of career support and increased confidence to find and implement solutions to the challenges they may face.

The programme is funded year-on-year by the partner companies that provide mentors, so this year it was Allianz, CBRE, Fitzgerald Power, McCann Fitzgerald, Salesforce and VHI.

Shine Festival

The Shona Project hosted their annual two-day Shine Festival in Waterford last week, where 2,500 transition year girls from all over Ireland gathered in the SETU Arena for different talks.

The purpose of the event is to give the girls the tools to tackle the challenges they face.

“It’s never been so important to make sure that the young girls of Ireland feel empowered and inspired. There are so many external stressors and factors in these girls lives that leave them feeling alone, or like they don’t have a support system to lean on.

"Shine is our way of offering these students face time with encouraging and uplifting role models to help bridge that feeling for them,” says Tammy.

For more information about The Shona Project visit: shona.ie