Ricoh HRD: Creating an unbiased mentoring scheme

Rebekah Wallis, Director of People & Corporate Responsibility, Ricoh, speaks exclusively to HR Grapevine about creating a mentoring scheme without bias...

It’s widely recognised that mentoring is good for men and women. Too often though, women lack the confidence to ask for mentoring or worry that it will make them look weak. If there was a culture that encouraged this, then we would likely see an increase in women in business leadership roles.

According to the latest figures from the Hampton-Alexander review, FTSE 100 boardrooms are 27.7% female, up from 12.5% in 2011. However, the proportion declines dramatically for the most senior positions, with only 10% of the highest full-time executive roles held by women.

Clearly, more needs to be done to improve this ratio and each business and division within it has a role to play in championing female career growth. From an HR perspective, it’s our responsibility to help develop and nurture talent.