How Mentoring Can Accelerate Progress for Women

Jennifer Okaima Piette
5 min readMar 8, 2024

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Photo credit: Mesari design for Canva

Fellow Toast leaders and guests, has someone ever invested in you and accelerated your progress?

In this seven-minute presentation, I would like to share with you the impact and importance of having a mentor to accelerate progress.

A screenshot of my 5–7 presentation using Prezi

When I was a young 20-year-old aspiring journalist, I was struggling to gain the necessary experience and skills required to pursue my dream career. I urgently needed guidance.

That is when Mr. Lekan Otufodunrin, the then editor of The Nation Newspaper, came and impacted my life for good.

He provided me with:

- Practical advice and answers to some of my most pressing questions, such as whether I needed a degree to become a journalist, whether I would be able to make a living doing so - as journalism was known to be a less financially rewarding job. And whether I could succeed as a female journalist in a male-dominated industry.

- Professional networking opportunities and exposure to traditional newsrooms, where I had the opportunity to meet seasoned journalists and learn from them.

- Valuable insights into trends in the media industry and how to navigate career uncertainties.

- Editorial guidance that enabled me to launch my weekly column, “Dis Generation,” in a national newspaper and gave me the confidence to fly beyond the shores of Nigeria.

Fellow Toast leaders and guests, before I proceed, it is important to note what mentoring is not.

Mentoring is not the same as self-advocacy and sponsorship. But each plays an important role in our career development. Self-advocacy involves speaking up for oneself, sponsorship involves someone of high rank advocating for us, while mentoring involves someone with more experience, knowledge, and wisdom guiding us along the way.

As the popular saying goes, “To know the road ahead, ask those who are coming back.” Or those who have traveled the path.

Facebook collage

Back in 2004, I was just getting started on my career path, but my mentor, Mr. Lekan Otufodunrin, had already traveled far along that same road. His practical mentoring style involved asking me what I was doing as an intern at Journalist Against AIDS (JAAIDS) and where I wanted to go next. He invested his time and resources in ensuring that I made progress along the way.

Having a mentor is like standing on the shoulders of a giant. The right mentor will never let you down.

Today — March 8 — marks another International Women’s Day. And as Carol Wayman mentioned in her introduction, it is a day dedicated to inspire inclusion. It is a day to celebrate the roles and contributions of women in society, as well as to raise awareness about the challenges still hindering their progress.

This year’s UN theme is ‘Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress.’

Since my encounter with Mr. Otufodunrin about two decades ago, I have made tremendous progress.

  • I have earned two degrees, including a Master of Arts degree from an Ivy League university.
  • Traveled to rural villages and cities in multiple countries to report on stories that matter.
  • Attended many international conferences — where high-level policymakers and influencers gather — to broaden my horizons.
  • Launched and managed three media firms/newsrooms.
  • And collaborated on several projects where I’ve been mentored by others.
Presenting “Advancing media career in 2013” during a Journalists for Christ (JFC) meeting.

And it still feels like I am just getting started.

As I continue to forge ahead in the global development space, I am always looking for new ways to pay forward the gains of being mentored. For example, in 2022, I joined the Mentorship Program run by Community Bridges, a non-profit organization based in Maryland, where I serve as one of the formal mentors for elementary or high school aged girls. Being a Community Bridges mentor is an opportunity to make a positive contribution to my community by empowering others and hopefully accelerating their progress. It has been a great learning experience for me.

Connecting with my mentee offline. Yeah, not allowed to show their faces on SM :)

Fellow Toast leaders and guests, I would like to encourage each of you to reflect on your own experiences with mentoring and how you can pay it forward.

Whose progress will you accelerate today for a better tomorrow?

Happy IWD 2024! (And yes, women are not a homogenous group!)

US Senate Toastmasters Club

(To complete my Team Collaboration Pathway, I tackled the L2 Introduction to Toastmasters Mentoring, which included making a 5–7-minute presentation about a time when I was a protégé to reflect on the impact and importance of having a mentor. My presentation was evaluated by fellow U.S Senate Toast leader, Bonnie Maidak. She gave a valuable feedback to help me improve my next presentation. Thank you!)

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Jennifer Okaima Piette

Communications, Media, & Advocacy Expert|nee Jennifer Ehidiamen| Innately curious| Founder: @rural_reporters| #ThereIsaGod | Alum. @columbiajourn & @NIJLagos