A who’s who of Washington convened at the State Department late last month to mingle, network, and hear from Dina Powell, U.S. deputy national security adviser for strategy and the president’s senior counselor for economic initiatives.
But the real guests of honor were the 21 women from around the globe who, after the event, would go on to spend the next few weeks paired with an American businesswoman as part of the Fortune/U.S. State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership. In its 12th year, the program matches women business leaders from countries ranging from Argentina to Zimbabwe with some of the top female executives in the U.S. This year’s mentors hail from companies including Fidelity, Mastercard, IBM, Accenture, and Johnson & Johnson.
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“They talk about their careers, they share experiences,” Chris Miner, acting deputy assistant secretary for Professional and Cultural Exchanges in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, said of the D.C. event. “And this is really the first chance the women have of getting to know the American business climate and what women deal with when they’re in the U.S.”
After the dinner and orientation in D.C. programmed by non-profit Vital Voices, the mentees dispersed to cities around the U.S. to spend the next few weeks with their mentors. On Monday they’ll reconvene in New York City for a dinner and debriefing.
Stay tuned over the next few weeks as we continue to highlight some of the program’s past and present mentors and mentees.
