The mentoring program "mentoring4women - women in leadership" is being launched for the fifth time. The kick-off event in the City Hall Council Chamber on Thursday, March 27, 2025, will focus on bringing together the twelve tandems of one female employee (mentee) and one female leader (mentor). The participating mentees are women who are preparing for a leadership role or would like to strengthen their leadership role. The cross-company management program gives small and medium-sized companies the opportunity to use the methods and instruments of professional personnel development efficiently and free of charge.

The Bonn-Rhein-Sieg Competence Center for Women and Work thus supports small and medium-sized companies in personnel development that want to promote female specialists and managers from their own ranks. The aim of the mentoring program is to help increase the proportion of female managers in the Bonn/Rhine-Sieg region.

The high proportion of well-educated women in the Bonn/Rhine-Sieg region represents a great opportunity for the economy, especially in view of the ever-increasing demand for skilled workers and demographic change due to a shrinking working population. "Companies increase their competitiveness if they exploit and utilize the potential of female specialists. Mentoring can provide targeted support for the advancement and careers of working women," says Victoria Appelbe, Business Development Manager of the City of Bonn.

In the one-year mentoring program "mentoring4women - women in leadership", female employees are supported by experienced leaders. The two participants come from different sectors and companies. The main components of the one-year joint work of the tandems are the reflection of leadership skills and the planning of the company-internal career. The program includes monthly two-hour meetings with the mentor. The mentoring process is accompanied by a supporting programme organized by the competence center, consisting of a kick-off event, network meetings for the mentees and mentors, a mountain party/half-time meeting and the final event. At the network meetings, the mentees receive input on topics such as solution-oriented communication, conflict resolution strategies and self-presentation.

The Bonn/Rhine-Sieg Women and Career Competence Center is a joint project of the business development agencies of the city of Bonn and the Rhine-Sieg district and is funded by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.