What makes the Working Mother and Avtar 100 Best Companies for Women in India the best places to grow in career and life? The answer lies in the company’s best practices and inclusive policies.
In the fifth successive edition of The Best Practices of the 100 Best Conference (BOB), Amrita Madiah, Director, Talent Development, India, Adobe, took to the stage to talk about Women Executives Shadow Program (WESP) India Chapter.
Amrita set the context of her presentation by stating that WESP is not about women’s development alone. It is a volunteer movement run by a set of committed women, who along the way have found multiple benefits. In this high-potential women-identifying exercise, employees partner with an executive to experience a day in their life, gain cross-functional exposure to the business, and network with like-minded peers.
At the foundation level, volunteers of the WESP set up what they call Zen statement – a community program, driven by volunteers, for the women in India to Network, Learn and Grow.
History of WESP in India
In 2014 in India, five enterprising women applied for the program, got selected, and got paired with a senior leader in India to shadow them for a day in their workplace. It was an opportunity for these high-potential women to experience a day in an executive’s life, gain cross-functional exposure to the business, and network with like-minded peers. And this marked the beginning of the Women Executives Shadow Program (WESP) India Chapter.
In 2016, a realization dawned upon the volunteers that a single day of mentorship is not possible for everyone who applied. They also encountered a lack of senior leaders who could offer enough time in that window of running the program. These realizations led to the inception of a 3-month mentoring program that benefited in:
1) Extending more opportunities to women who applied
2) Including more leaders to be mentors
3) Increasing the amount of time of the engagement
Aided by the new developments, WESP was a great success till its fifth edition (WESP 5.0).
When the pandemic hit, WESP 6.0 edition shifted to a virtual platform.
In 2021, group mentoring and global mentors were introduced after observing the exponential growth in the number of people applying or interested in joining WESP every year.
Women Executives Shadow Program (WESP) India Chapter now has a One-day shadow, Group Mentoring, and 1:1 mentoring programs.
A one-day shadow program is conducted 4-5 hours on a single day or split between multiple days over a week. Women with 10+ years of experience are the core applicants. In addition to 1:1 mentoring, group mentoring is organized for three extended months. In these three months, participants get the chance to engage with external speakers, attend open houses and a host of other skill-building sessions that could help them make future career choices.
Highlights of WESP:
-A program sponsored by leaders
-Increased program awareness
-Constant giveback from alumni
-Enabling at every level
-Year-on-year growth
“I think it has turned out to be a wholesome experience for everybody involved. Whether you are a WESP core committee or someone who signed up to be a mentor, an external speaker, or someone who came to teach skills and to me that is success right around,” concluded Amrita.
