In celebration of International Mentoring Day, Kérastase, a professional luxury haircare brand worldwide, has launched Power Talks in the U.S., in partnership with mentorship nonprofit Step Up.
Step Up works to provide structure for girls (and those who identify with girlhood) to define their unique vision of success and offers support and a safe space for them as they navigate along the way. The initiative aims to ensure more young women have the confidence to define and achieve success on their own terms. According to a global study by the brand, women consider themselves less confident than men, making it harder to self-advocate for higher pay, promotions, or equal opportunities. More than one in two women also confess they have been held back because of limiting beliefs and 74 percent of women report that they think they lack confidence in crucial, career-defining moments*.
Power Talks aims at closing this confidence gap between men and women through mentorship, education, and inspiring discussions. The "Power Talks" program consists of "flash mentoring" sessions hosted for women, by women and is based on the idea that just one powerful interaction between a mentor and mentee can make a lasting impact. The program pairs mentors and mentees together for short-term, targeted, skills-based mentoring session(s) to help boost their confidence during the crucial moments in the beginning of their career. This format encourages brief, but impactful knowledge-sharing.
With this initiative, Kérastase joins Step Up on the mission to create effective mentoring programs for young women to grow their confidence, leverage social capital and benefit from the experience of mentors, while simultaneously addressing key barriers around confidence.
"I am delighted to finally be debuting Power Talks by Kérastase in the United States. So much of the spirit of the Kérastase brand is about inspiring confidence in women, which is why we wanted to dedicate our time to conducting research on this topic," says Guillaume Duez, Kérastase general manager. "It was then that we learned what a prevalent issue this is for women across the globe, and our new philanthropic mission became clear. We're very proud to be partnering with Step Up on this work."
"We are grateful for the transformational investment from Kérastase that will deliver deeply impactful mentoring connections to Step Up's community of young women who are coming of age in a society that's experiencing a confidence gap," explains Delores Morton, CEO of Step Up. "At Step Up, we believe girls deserve to define and pursue success on their terms. We're excited to partner with Kérastase to together ensure young women across the U.S. benefit from the experiences of mentors to nurture their personal and professional growth."
The power of mentorship is clear.
- Women who have had a mentor are 74 percent more likely to be very self-confident*.
- Youth with a mentor are 130 percent more likely to hold leadership positions**.
Following Step Up's mentorship program, participants self-reported they experienced the following***:
- 84 percent growth in confidence
- 80 percent growth in self-awareness
- 73 percent growth in skills
The Kérastase and Step Up Power Talks program launched on January 17, 2023 in the U.S. For more info, visit www.kerastase.com/power-talks.
*Kérastase international survey (online interviews made by Scènes de Vie) on more than 2,500 women in the USA, China, Brazil, U.K. and France, August 2022
**The Mentoring Effect: Young People’s Perspectives on the Outcomes and Availability of Mentoring, 2014
***SY22 Impact Report: Step Up School Year 2021-2022, 2022