On Wednesday evening, The NETWORK, Luxembourg's oldest international professional business women's association, held an online event on "The Power of Reverse Mentoring” and its role in bridging the generation gap.

The 90-minute event, which took place via Zoom, brought together around 30 participants from Luxembourg and beyond, who had the chance to hear from and interact with panellists representing four different generations: Sharon March (Baby Boomers); Alberta Brusi (Generation X), Ksenia Komarova (Millennials) and Mara Kroth (Generation Z).

The NETWORK’s 30th Anniversary

The NETWORK President Marie Louise Ashworth opened the event by announcing the association’s plans for the first quarter of next year. Indeed, 2021 marks an important milestone for The NETWORK, which will be celebrating 30 years of “women supporting women” in Luxembourg. In January, Joanna Denton, an executive and public speaking coach and former chair of the British Chamber of Commerce for Luxembourg, will lead a panel on mental health and burnout – an especially important topic during the challenging times associated with the COVID-19 health crisis. February’s event will see The NETWORK join forces with a men’s association in Luxembourg to focus on diversity, ahead of the AGM in March. Throughout the rest of the year, the association’s events will continue to raise money for its chosen local charities, namely the Fraenhaus (women's refuge) of the Femmes en Détresse asbl.

Before this, however, The NETWORK will close 2020 with a festive online glühwein and gingerbread event in December, as well as a Christmas sparkle appeal (similar to the traditional shoebox appeal) to prepare toiletry bags with all the necessities for women moving into the Fraenhaus. Marie Louise Ashworth noted that the initiative aimed to “give something back and add a bit of sparkle to [these women’s] lives”.

Reverse Mentoring

The focus then switched back to bridging the gap between generations through reverse mentoring (i.e. between a senior and younger employee in the workplace). The panellists began by sharing their own experiences on cross-generational learning and reverse mentoring at work.

Representing the Baby Boomers, Sharon March, a university professor and consultant with a background in banking, mentoring and coaching, revealed that she had never observed any negative perception of her generation in the workplace. She added that she does not see age as an issue, but that if we engage in reverse mentoring long enough, there will no longer be the need to "work together to break down [these] barriers". 

On behalf of Generation X, Alberta Brusi, who has been both a mentor and a mentee and comes from a banking background, noted that her generation was taught to work hard without questioning notions of wellbeing, diversity and climate change. She praised the fact that younger generations asked prospective employers about their policies in these areas.

Representing the Millennials, Ksenia Komarova, who works in marketing for Facebook and WhatsApp in Russia, agreed with both Sharon, in that she had not noticed different generations at work, and Alberta, in that younger generations were focussed on diversity and inclusion.

As for Generation Z, Mara Kroth, a mentee and social entrepreneur who co-founded GoldenMe, an organisation aimed at preventing social (and digital) isolation among older people, noted that it was important not to generalise but that hers was the "Fridays for Future" generation. They tend to be more critical of decisions being made in the workplace, namely regarding gender and diversity, as well as the older generations' attitude to climate change, and strive to make a change. And yet, she noted that the different generations shared the desire to do things differently to their parents.

Despite technical difficulties linked to Zoom's break-out rooms, the panellists and participants were then able to engage in a discussion based on the following questions:

- How is your generation perceived in the workplace? What advantages and value do you see in your generation? Define what are the benefits of cross generation learning and how can this impact way we work together?

- How would you set up a reverse / cross mentoring programme? What would be the objectives?

In this very interactive event, participants shared their at times very different experiences. Sharon stressed that mentoring can be a really useful tool regardless of age, as long as it is done properly, whilst Mara noted the role of unconscious biases, sparking others to share existing stereotypes (both good and bad) about Millennials, for example.

Regarding the panellists’ main takeaways from this event, Sharon noted that we are not as different as we think we are and that a lot of biases we expect to have do not actually exist. Mara agreed, adding that this event had proven once again how valuable women networking is. Ksenia left feeling inspired and expressed her appreciation of everyone’s openness, saying that we were all "ambassadors of change and ending biases, closing this generation gap". She added that we are all individuals but share similarities regardless of age. Last but not least, Alberta was also inspired by her fellow panellists and participants, leaving the event feeling "hopeful, optimistic and inspired". She concluded that she had learned the importance of not putting people in boxes and not giving into unconscious biases, but instead to be humble and listen to others.

Mentoring Programme

The event ended on a high note with The NETWORK's Vice President Amy Amann announcing that the association was setting up its own pilot mentoring programme, in response to high demand among members. This structured programme is aimed at providing a benefit to members, supporting their personal and professional growth, offering them the opportunity to get different outlooks and insights and to make a connection and an affiliation through a structured mentorship relationship.

The four-month pilot programme will include guidance and support from The NETWORK and members can choose from two mentoring options: the classic mentoring duo, a partnership based on mutual learning; and peer support, which focusses on accountability and helping one another achieve their goals.

The recruitment process begins now and will continue into December, before the programme launches in January 2021 with an orientation session. Mentoring will then take place between January and April 2021 before a final review.

Amy Amann noted that the programme was a “chance to power, connect and support each other”.