B4W-ELIXIR leadership and diversity mentoring programme – ELEAD

Women remain a minority in the upper management of the ELIXIR community. Although the gender gap in the ELIXIR network is narrowing, progress is still very slow, and there is no strategic support for women in ELIXIR middle management to foster their career towards higher leadership positions. Here we present the strategic implementation study “ELIXIR LEadership And Diversity mentoring programme – ELEAD” which seeks to provide women in ELIXIR middle management with leadership tools, incorporating a gender and diversity perspective, to support them in their career growth and help them become mindful leaders. Ultimately, the aim is to increase the number of women in ELIXIR’s leadership positions and to support them to develop leadership skills in line with the values of the ELIXIR community. The ELEAD programme will consist of professional training and a mentoring schema with international leads within ELIXIR and its extended network. The training will consist of both remote and on-site sessions delivered by professionals, covering topics such as unconscious bias, inclusive leadership and communication skills. The mentoring part will consist of both regular peer-to-peer sessions and of a joint peer mentoring programme amongst participants, structured and supported by a professional coach. Likewise, mentors will also receive professional training and will guide mentees in terms of people management, decision-making, communication, time management, delegation, establishing a respectful work environment and, importantly, how to build self-confidence in mentees’ abilities, experience, and skills, with the aim to develop their own leadership style. This schema has been piloted within the ELIXIR-ES Bioinfo4Women programme with excellent feedback so far. These tools will help middle management to grow personally and professionally and to improve their leadership efficiency and management skills, preparing them to take over responsibilities of a more strategic nature. This strategic implementation study, with a duration of 24 months, is used as a pilot to fathom the content of the ELEAD programme within the framework of the upcoming ELIXIR 2024-2028 programme.