Electronic Mentoring

The Tennessee Economic Council on Women partnered with the Women’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor to sponsor the GEM-Nursing and GEM-SET e-mentoring programs. These programs utilize interactive on-line list serve and Web sites to connect students with mentors in non-traditional professional fields and to educate students on the benefits of pursuing careers in these areas.

GEM-Nursing

Group Electronic Mentoring in Nursing (GEM-Nursing) encourages students, ages 15-21, to pursue nursing careers through innovative group e-mentoring. GEM-Nursing raises youth awareness on the educational opportunities, career options, and benefits of working in nursing fields and also provides tools and encouragement that help students and communities to address the workforce shortage in these areas. Students use the Daily Digest listserv to dialogue with professionals who answer their questions about education and career development in nursing and allied health and share interesting stories and work experiences. Students also have access to the GEM-Nursing Web site (www.gem-nursing.org) which provides information on mentors, fun learning activities, and a calendar of upcoming events. In addition, GEM-Nursing sponsors regional events that bring students and mentors together and raise public awareness about the program and its participants.

GEM-SET

The Girls’ E-Mentoring in Science, Engineering, and Technology (GEM-SET) program is designed to expand the opportunities for girls and women to enter and succeed in education and careers in science, engineering and technology (SET). GEM-SET realizes the importance of encouraging girls to enter rapidly growing, traditionally male dominated SET fields that will provide them with future jobs offering competitive salaries and economic self-sufficiency. The GEM-SET program offers e-mentoring opportunities, which connect girls with women in SET fields who encourage them to take classes in SET, show them that SET careers are fun, exciting and challenging, and share experiences to help them overcome concerns and barriers in SET. Through the GEM-SET listserv girls ask questions and receive answers from mentors in a safe and effective manner, which are then sent to each participant through the Daily Digest. The GEM-SET Web site (www.gem-set.org) provides biographies of mentors, archives of past Daily Digests, and GEM-SET activities as tools for raising interest and learning about SET. In addition, GEM-SET sponsors regional activities for GEM-SET participants such as conferences, workshops, field trips or other activities to promote girls’ interest in SET and GEM-SET.