Mentorship Partnerships 2020/2021

Guiding Principles and Best Practices Mentorship Program Outline

1. Overview 3

2. About 4

Mentorship Program Guidelines

3. LGBTQ Considerations 5

a. E-Mentoring Focus for 2020/2021 6

b. Recruitment 6

c. Selection Process 7

Screening 7

Mentee Screening Criteria 7

Training 8

Matching and Initiating 9

Monitoring and Support 9

Criteria for Terminating Program Early 10

GenderCool Expected Outputs for Membership 11

Closure Evaluation and Follow Up 11

Mentor Compensation 11 Overview

When The GenderCool Project launched in 2018, our mission was clear: help replace misinformed opinions with real, positive experiences meeting remarkable transgender and non-binary young people.

Through the support of our committed corporate partners, continued interest by national media, and engagement of thousands of families raising transgender and non-binary young people across the globe, GenderCool is succeeding in positively changing the conversation around transgender and non-binary youth.

It’s now time to increase our impact by moving from attitudinal shifts to behavioral change.

We sensed an organic evolution in the work GenderCool was doing. A great deal of our efforts have centered on large-scale corporate events with our growing list of partners including Nike, Dell Technologies, Intuit, General Mills, HP, Intel, VMware, Indeed and American Airlines. Our corporate partners have expressed increased interest in engaging more with our Champions and offering additional opportunities for personal growth and development beyond our year-long partnerships.

With this foundation, we collaborated with a handful of our “early adopter” partners to create the GenderCool Mentorship Program Initiative.

We know that gainful employment for transgender and non-binary young people is fraught with barriers from unconscious bias to purposeful discrimination. We also know that access to employment can completely change the life of a young person in this and all marginalized communities.

To that end, we have leveraged guidance from the leading mentorship organizations, including mentoring.org, to help inform our programming.

3 About the Mentoring Partnership

The GenderCool Mentorship Partnerships pair GenderCool Champions (our young people ages 12 to 17) with employees at corporate partner organizations to provide (at this time) a fully virtual, co-learning mentor opportunity with exposure to and participation in daily work experiences. The Champions are highly motivated and enthusiastic about engaging with the corporate world.

GenderCool Champion mentees are paired up with 1-3 mentors from select organizations for 4-6 weeks, with an estimated 3 hours per week commitment from both parties.

The program includes opportunities such as:

• 1:1 candid discussions about what it's like to work in selected corporation in specified roles (marketing, development, sales, operations, HR, customer service, executive leadership, legal counsel, etc. pending mentee and mentor goals and interests)

• Job shadowing (attendance in virtual meetings and/or brainstorm sessions)

• Showcasing what inclusion looks like in daily practice and tapping Champions to create and present their ideas for progressing inclusion

• Capstone wrap up project from Champion mentee showcasing their experience and takeaways

4 Mentorship Program Guidelines

LGBTQ Considerations

The GenderCool Project is fueled by remarkable, mature and talented transgender and non-binary youth. As such, there are unique expectations that should be followed in order to offer the most productive and positive experience for both mentee and mentor. Through the development of our programming, we referenced mentoring.org’s new section on understanding best practices for supporting LGBTQ youth. This includes ensuring the mentors selected for our programming have a strong foundational knowledge of gender identity versus sexual orientation, the importance of pronouns and the ability to maximize non-gendered experiences in the workplace. https://www.mentoring.org/new-site/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/ MENTOR_LGBTQ-Supplement-to-EEP-for-Mentoring.pdf

5 Mentorship Program Guidelines

LGBTQ Considerations

E-Mentoring Focus for 2020/2021

As the ongoing pandemic with Covid 19 evolves in ways we are yet to fully realize, it's critical that GenderCool creates safe and effective programming for both mentees and mentors. To that end, GenderCool is in a highly unique position. As a youth-led, youth inspired and digital-forward effort, our Champions are extremely comfortable interacting with varied technology platforms. GenderCool was able to pivot almost immediately to providing impactful programming virtually once in-person experiences were no longer viable in March 2020.

Our mentorship programming is no exception. We have created an organized, safe, virtual structure, utilizing technology platforms and systems including Zoom, Bluejeans and Webex. We also referenced best practices from mentoring.org's e-learning section below. https://www.mentoring.org/new-site/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/E-Mentoring- Supplement-to-EEP-1.pdf

Recruitment

The GenderCool Mentorship Program engages in recruitment strategies that: • Realistically portray the benefits, practices, supports, and challenges of the program for both mentor and mentee

• Build positive attitudes about mentoring a GenderCool Champion

• Recruits mentors whose skills, motivations, and backgrounds best match the goals and structure of the program and selected mentee

• Recruits mentees whose needs best match the services offered by the program based on interest and needs of the mentee 6 Mentorship Program Guidelines

Application of LGBTQ Considerations

Selection Process • Mentors will be recruited from the GenderCool partners organization. This can be done via selection process or company surveys and is handled by the corporate partner with input from GenderCool

• GenderCool teams with partners to create surveys and questionnaires to assist with recruitment

• GenderCool Champion mentee will be selected based on interest and availability for the given role

Screening

• All mentors will be screened by the corporate partner and GenderCool to determine whether they have the time, commitment, and personal qualities to be an appropriate and effective mentor

• Selected mentors will also go through a thorough background check from GenderCool through a nationally accredited, third party vendor such as GoodHire

• Mentor interviews should be conducted as part of the screening process in order to uncover safety-related red flags and other information that might influence a decision to accept a mentor applicant ( e.g. a negative attitude about this community)

Mentee Screening Criteria

• Mentees will be screened as prospective mentees, and their parents or guardians, about whether they have the time, commitment, and desire to be effectively mentored

7 Mentorship Program Guidelines

Mentee Screening Criteria

• Parent(s)/guardian(s) complete an application or referral form

• Parent(s)/guardian(s) provide informed permission for their child to participate

• Parent(s)/guardian(s) and mentees agree in writing to a 4-6 week commitment for the mentoring relationship

• Mentee parents will need to sign an NDA/agreement from corporate partners at the start of the program.

Training

• Our program ensures prospective mentors, mentees, and mentees' parents (or legal guardians) have the basic knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to build an effective and safe mentoring relationship using culturally appropriate language and tools. To this end, mentors and mentees will be provided with national standards around mentorship program

• The GenderCool Champions are committed to personal and professional development. They participate in a vigorous, multi-month training protocol before becoming Champions. The GenderCool Project prepares Champions for national media interviews and speaking engagements by conducting multiple media, messaging and public speaking trainings. These trainings are provided by GenderCool co-founders Jen Grosshandler and Gearah Goldstein. Grosshandler’s background is in journalism and global marketing. She was a SVP with Edelman Worldwide, the world’s largest independent public relations firm and has media and message trained CEO’s, government officials, and celebrity influencers. Grosshandler is also an adjunct professor, having taught public speaking and theory-level writing at the university level. Goldstein is an inclusion and diversity subject matter expert and speaks nationally on impactful public speaking. She has trained thousands across the country how to create and deliver powerful personal stories 8 Mentorship Program Guidelines

Matching and Initiating

• Mentors and mentees will be matched based on their interest, experience and individual considerations for the program (e.g., availability; age; gender; race; ethnicity; personality; expressed preferences of mentor, mentee, and parent or guardian; goals; strengths; previous experiences)

• GenderCool and partner will initiate the kickoff of the partnership and help to set the schedule to ensure the program is executed and runs efficiently for all participants

◦ Program arranges and documents an initial meeting between the mentor and mentee

◦ Program staff member from GenderCool may be present during the initial match meeting of the mentor and mentee, and, when relevant, parent or guardian

Monitoring and Support

• The GenderCool team and corporate partners monitor and provide support throughout the entirety of the mentor program for both the mentor and mentee

• GenderCool staff will be available to join all mentor calls

• GenderCool staff and corporate partner contact mentors and mentees throughout the duration of the program

• Program documents information about each mentor-mentee meeting including, at a minimum, the date, length, and description of activity completed

9 Mentorship Program Guidelines

Monitoring and Support

• Program makes reasonable efforts to provide mentees and parents or guardians with access or referrals to relevant resources (e.g., expert advice from program staff or others, publications, Web-based resources) to help families address needs and challenges as they arise

• Program provides mentors with feedback on a regular basis regarding their mentees' outcomes and the impact of mentoring on their mentees to continuously improve mentee outcomes

Criteria for Terminating Program Early

In the rarest of cases, it may be necessary to end the mentorship program early, either because of undesirable behavior on the part of the mentee or mentor. Grounds for early termination include:

• If either party is nonresponsive, irresponsible or inactive in the mentoring program

• If either party utilizes unprofessional, offensive language or exhibits inappropriate behavior

If there is cause for termination, GenderCool will work in partnership with corporate HR personnel to follow all necessary protocol, including documenting all details.

10 Mentorship Program Guidelines

Expected Questions for Mentees to Answer at Conclusion of Program

1. What does the company do to solve real-world challenges?

2. How does the work happen on a daily basis?

3. How do employees engage with each other in order to reach their goals?

4. What does diversity and inclusion actually look like on a daily basis?

5. In what ways might the mentee see themselves within the organization?

Closure, Evaluation and Follow Up

• Program will create evaluation metrics including:

◦ Criteria to measure/assess success of program from both mentor and mentee perspective based on individual experience

◦ Feedback from mentors and mentees

• Mentee will develop a wrap up report from their perspective to share with mentor and corporate partner and via select internal and external communication channels

• Mentors will be encouraged to provide letters of recommendation for mentee and continue their personal relationship as a mentor

Mentee Compensation

To increase the strongest sense of ownership and pride, The GenderCool mentees receive stipends for their participation in the mentorship 11 programming.