Industry mentorship program Assisterhood continues to expand in its sixth year

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Industry mentorship program Assisterhood continues to expand in its sixth year

What started as an International Women’s Day morning tea brief in 2018, Assisterhood – a 1:1 industry mentorship program that links womxn, non-binary and culturally-underrepresented people with mentoring, experience and education – was born. Senior mentors hail from creative, media, marketing, production, design, tech and digital leadership roles.

 

The success of the program saw 99 alumni in its past five years, with 62% of mentees obtaining a promotion or a new job after participating in Assisterhood, while a whopping 85% gained new skills and experiences.

The 2023 program is on track to bring Assisterhood’s total alumni to 160 across three states, with the inaugural NSW program launch joining VIC and QLD.

Says Charlotte Goodsir, Assisterhood NSW lead: “I’m so excited to be working with the team to bring this to NSW. It’s been an absolute joy meeting all of the mentors and I can’t wait to see the amazing potential they will bring out in mentees this year. I’m also wildly jealous that I’m not able to apply.”

After sharing her upbringing and the Assisterhood origin story at the inaugural Mavens magazine launch last year, Assisterhood founder Linh Diep encourages more mentees and mentors from regional, disadvantaged, and culturally-diverse backgrounds to apply: “Because you can’t be what you can’t see.”

While Assisterhood’s success and growth is happening at speed, Diep says the program remains centred around quality over quantity: “We have a 1:1 conversation with each mentor to see if they are the right fit, and are constantly improving our selection and match-making approach to make sure both mentees and mentors get the most out of the program.”

The program’s consistent success is due to the gap in the industry, the calibre of mentors, the vulnerability of mentees, generosity of sponsors, allies, and of course the dedication of the Assisterhood team.

Made up entirely of volunteers including young industry leaders, rising stars, and past alumni who are passionate about diverse representation in leadership, the Assisterhood team knows the importance of a strong mentor.

Linh Diep, Business Manager at Special – Assisterhood Founder

Polina Shilenina, Digital Director at Publicis – QLD Lead / Chief Product Officer

Charlotte Goodsir, Account Strategist at Google – NSW Lead

Jessie Roper, Business Director at Saatchi & Saatchi – VIC Lead

Sarah Kramer, Communications Planning Director at CHEP – National Sponsorship Lead

Anais Read, Copywriter at Ogilvy – Assisterhood Copywriter

Vanessa Pham, Integrated Senior Account Manager at Publicis & Arc – Assisterhood Designer

Lizzy Ballantyne, General Manager at Media Mortar – QLD Mentor Liaison

Isabelle Debnam, Head of Marketing at Teach Starter – QLD Mentor Liaison

Elle Whittaker, Art Director at Ogilvy – Assisterhood Designer

Molly Atkinson, Integrated Account Manager at Publicis – Digital Producer

Lily Anderson, Business Manager at Special – Event Manager

Em Treacey, Client Associate Director at Spark Foundry – Organisational Lead

Caitlin Alcock, Junior Planner at Saatchi & Saatchi – Community Manager

Bryony Hardy, Social Media Coordinator at SOAK Creative – Community Manager

Assisterhood strongly encourages people of all backgrounds and identities to apply for the 2023 mentorship program. New volunteers for the Assisterhood team are also welcomed.

2023 mentors will be announced in the coming weeks.

Apply – assisterhood.com.au

Connect – @assisterhood

Listen – Assistercast