Leading consultancy firm Ernst & Young (“EY”) has grasped the nettle to tackle male chauvinism in the City by appointing junior employees to “reverse mentor” their bosses on how to behave in the 21st Century.
More than half of the firm’s intake is female, but this declines with seniority, where much of their talent and experience is lost. The firm then decided to introduce reverse mentoring pairing the leadership team with “high potential” young women volunteers to counsel them.
Adrian Edwards, a managing partner at EY said “They helped us, as leaders, understand how our behaviour, actions and words were impacting on people. This was a breakthrough. It continues to be one of the most powerful learning experiences of my career to understand, from my mentor’s perspective, the impact of … accepted norms.”
Other firms have adopted reverse mentoring with younger employees and big companies are becoming increasingly aware of gender issues.
Sayeh Ghanbari, Mr Edwards’ mentor is now a director and in line for partnership at EY. She said “It takes courage to assume your reverse roles in the power dynamic.” Ms Ghanbari helped Mr Edwards reconsider terminology and to take more women to client meetings. “There’s been an improvement” she said. “People do not send emails between 7pm on Friday and 7am on Monday.”