SWE Mentoring Committee: Reflections on a Year of Firsts

To honor the first anniversary of the SWE Mentoring Committee’s formation, Mandeep Gill (she/her) discusses her journey on the committee and the impact its members have had in one year.
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A year ago, I had the opportunity to join the SWE Mentoring Committee, made up of a diverse group of talented members who are champions of mentoring in their respective fields.  Stepping into this team did not feel uncomfortable or new; rather, I was welcomed by all.

Avery Brooks, the FY24 chair, explained the committee, its role, and its goals to me in detail. I met all the members online and was given a choice of sub-team to join. This, perhaps, was the quickest onboarding ever!

Mentoring holds a special place in my heart. Back in college, more than 20 years ago, I did not have a mentor or guide to help me navigate the sea of choices. Fast forward to today — I now understand the importance of mentoring and the difference it can make in an individual’s life. Thus, I advocate for mentoring, and I am a mentor to students and professionals.

What Does the SWE Mentoring Committee Do?

The Mentoring Committee empowers individuals and mentoring organizations by providing relevant mentoring-related resources and support as needed. The committee members are committed to advocating for mentoring and professional development for women in engineering.

SWE members can additionally use the SWE Mentor Network, which is managed by SWE HQ in the U.S. On the SWE Mentor Network, you can find and engage with mentors and mentees in the SWE community.

The SWE Mentoring Committee does not oversee the SWE Mentor Network; rather, the committee works to increase the visibility of the SWE Mentor Network program. Some committee members, such as myself, are listed as mentors and mentees on the SWE Mentor Network.

SWE FY24 Mentoring Committee Members: Cathy Meyn, Silvija Skemaite, Karen Ramsey-Idem, Emilie Steinhoff, and Yareni Lara RodriguezSWE FY24 Mentoring Committee Members: Cathy Meyn, Silvija Skemaite,
Karen Ramsey-Idem, Emilie Steinhoff, and Yareni Lara Rodriguez

When Was the SWE Mentoring Committee Formed?

June marked the first anniversary of my tenure with the SWE Mentoring Committee and the committee’s inaugural year. The SWE Mentoring Committee was formed in 2023 after the SWE Board of Directors approved its charter in June 2023.

How Is the Mentoring Committee Structured?

The Mentoring Committee is well-structured, and, in its first year, was organized into six sub-teams (subject to change in the future): Awards and Conference, Writing, Social Media, Events, Admin, and Graphics.

The 21-member committee was originally composed of a chair, a chair-elect, and dedicated Professional and Collegiate members who are passionate about mentoring and invested their time in driving engagement in the SWE mentor program.

In FY25, I continue to be part of the Writing sub-team, which has given me incredible exposure to the nuances of writing other than what I do as part of my day-to-day job, which is technical writing. The Writing sub-team is responsible for developing content, such as blog articles, for SWE’s All Together Blog, which helps provide relevant information about mentoring to its global audience.

My first assignment was collaborating with Catherine Meyn and Diya Dwarakanath on an article about global mentoring and the expectations one might have from a mentoring relationship outside one’s country or culture. I will always cherish this experience. It helped me understand the committee members and their style of working more closely. I appreciate the open communication, respect, and ability to adapt and create impactful work while working across a truly global team.

Finally, I met the committee chair and other members for the first time at the WE23 conference in Los Angeles in October 2023. It was a brief meet-and-greet, but I could sense their passion and dedication. I felt inspired by their unwavering commitment.

Members of the SWE Mentoring Committee at WE23 Back row, left to right: Silvija Skemaite, Tess Davis, Diane Doise, Emilie Steinhoff Front row, left to right: Cathy Meyn, Becca Brader, Mandeep Gill

Members of the SWE Mentoring Committee at WE23
Back row, left to right: Silvija Skemaite, Tess Davis, Diane Doise, Emilie Steinhoff
Front row, left to right: Cathy Meyn, Becca Brader, Mandeep Gill

What Is the Mentoring Committee’s Mantra?

The committee members meet monthly, with ad hoc sub-team meetings. We understand the time zone differences; thus, the committee chair hosts two monthly meeting sessions.

As a best practice, each meeting is kicked off with a DEI&B (diversity, equity, inclusion, & belonging) topic, which is unique to this team and something I always look forward to.

This practice helps promote DEI&B values within the team, helps maintain inclusivity, and is another way for everyone to learn from their peers. Everyone gets a chance to present and share their story and thus feel empowered.

Once the committee grew, it was split into project teams based on the members’ interests. The project leads of these sub-teams trained the members and ensured ongoing communication. As part of the Writing sub-team, I was impressed with our training on writing techniques for blogs and articles, grabbing readers’ attention, effective collaboration, etc.

As I write this article, I cannot stress enough the importance of team collaboration and camaraderie. I have never felt pressure or a sense of not being part of the group. Writing involves seeking feedback, and my Writing sub-team lead and other members ensure that we give each other positive and constructive feedback.

Was It an Impactful Year?

The Mentoring Committee’s impact in FY24 has been phenomenal. The work done by the members in different capacities has impacted over 500 readers and participants across 18 countries. Committee members share a vested interest in mentoring and its best practices.

Over the past year, the team members have hosted four virtual and one in-person events and panel discussions to advance SWE’s mission, address the challenges faced in mentoring, and promote the SWE Mentor Network.

Apart from the events and serving the community, the committee members were heavily involved in onboarding and training new members, sharing best practices, working on the committee charter, and establishing a strong and effective communication channel between committee members and SWE HQ.

Visual representation of the SWE Mentoring Committee’s FY24 online presence, blog posts, and events. View on Instagram or find the achievements listed in text format in this All Together blog post.

What Were Some Challenges and Lessons Learned?

One of the challenges faced by any team or group is to sustain engagement and manage membership growth. As more members joined the committee, it became evident that it was beneficial to split the team into different sub-teams and assign the members as per their area of interest and strength.

Along the way, it was also essential to explain to the SWE community about our work and how we support this community through our initiatives.

Learning the tool that SWE provides to the various committees took time. The software had a bit of a learning curve; however, with support and collaboration, we quickly adopted it.

One of the best practices I learned within my Writing sub-team was finding a suitable time to meet across different time zones.

Our lead, Diya Dwarakanath, introduced us to a tool called “Whenisgood” that made our lives easier. I was also inspired by another great practice our lead introduced — “Smiles and Fails.” Seeing the success here, I have adopted it for another SWE group I lead. Our Writing sub-team meetings begin with this small but impactful exercise, which helps everyone feel included and share their big or small “hits and misses.”

What’s Next? Fast Forward to FY25!

As I finish writing this article, we are already in the next fiscal calendar year of SWE, as July 1 is the kick-off for FY25.

The committee celebrated its first anniversary in June this year. The SWE Mentoring Committee remains dedicated to advocating for mentoring and professional development, member engagement, and supporting the SWE HQ through its initiatives. In addition, SWE Committee members will present at WE24, which will be held in Chicago.

As far as the Writing sub-team goes, we are excited to welcome new members in FY25 and look forward to another great year of learning!

Thank You to Our FY24 SWE Mentoring Committee Members:

Becca Brader
Avery Brooks
Diane Doise
Diya Dwarakanath
Mandeep Gill
Mary-Jane Green
Sarah Johnson
Cathy Meyn
Shruti Nandi
Upekesha Addagatla Ngugi
Silvija Skemaite
Tiffany Soebroto
Emilie Steinhoff
Sarah V. Sullivan
Anthea Udo

SWE Board of Directors Liaison: Karen Ramsey-Idem

Author

  • Mandeep Gill

    Mandeep Gill (she/her) brings 21 years of experience in technical documentation and user experience design to her current role at HCL Technologies in the Life Sciences domain. She manages a diverse portfolio at the Chandigarh R&D center in India. She developed two programs at Becton Dickinson, her previous company, that won “Mentoring” and “Leadership Development within Group” SWE Mission Award Best Practice recognition in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Mandeep is a SWE Global Ambassador, Mentoring Committee member, and the SWE Global Women Engineers Affinity Group Lead.

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