Community guidelines
These guidelines are a living document, co-created by our community. They belong to the whole community and are not tied to any one cohort or round.
Program Expectations
What to expect:
- •To attend all mandatory community meetups, workshops, peer support groups, and one-on-one sessions with your mentee/mentor match.
- •To follow all community guidelines (co-created by our community).
- •To respect, appreciate, and value your mentee/mentor relationship.
For mentees:
- •Take initiative to drive the relationship and be responsible for your own development and planning.
- •Have clear goals and outcomes, and be prepared to work on them.
- •Communicate with your mentor on any progress and/or setbacks/challenges you face.
- •Be open to receiving constructive feedback from your mentor.
For mentors:
- •Provide help, offer suggestions, and be a sounding board for issues relating to the mentee's personal or professional goals and development.
- •Guide mentees in the decision-making process by sharing your own experience. Mentors are not expected to make a decision for their mentee.
- •Provide honest, but practical feedback to your mentee.
What NOT to expect:
- •Empower'em will not facilitate a mentee/mentor relationship that extends beyond the program timeline; this is up to the discretion of the mentee/mentor pair. Neither should assume their match will continue beyond the agreed-upon time frame.
- •Mentors should not be expected to provide personal introductions to other people unless they are comfortable doing so.
- •Mentors should not be expected to spend more time on the relationship than what is in their capacity beyond the one-on-one sessions.
Community Guidelines
Below are guidelines that we as a community have created together and will be strictly enforcing at all our events. Any person found not complying with these guidelines will be removed from our community.
1. Respect others' identities.
Identity could include gender identity, sexual preference, survivor status, health status, economic status, religion, background, beliefs, opinions, and many more. Do not make judgments on anyone's identities. Treat others the way you would want to be treated.
2. Respect others' boundaries.
Remember that physical and emotional boundaries look different for different people.
3. Do not make any assumptions.
Always ask someone about their identity, background, story, and experiences, even if it seems obvious to you. For example, don't assume someone's ethnicity, their pronouns, or even how to pronounce their name.
4. Share only what you're comfortable sharing.
No one is ever required to disclose any personal information they want to keep private.
5. Listen actively and make space.
Always wait your turn to speak, and make sure you create space for others to share.
6. Confidentiality.
Keep confidential all private and personal information that is shared with you during all events.
7. Respect others' right to privacy.
Do not push anyone to answer questions or share information they don't want to.
8. Be aware and take responsibility for your actions and words.
Your actions and words may have unintended effects on other people. Regardless of where you are coming from (e.g. positive intent), remember that someone's reaction and feelings to your actions and words are valid.
9. Be present and engaged.
Respect others' time, energy, and courage to share their stories by being present, engaged, and ready to listen in return.
10. Come with open ears, mind, and heart.
Be mindful that we all come into this space with different perspectives, lived experiences, and ideas. Be ready to listen and maybe even learn something new.
11. Build a safe, trusting, and welcoming space.
Our community strives to be a judgement-free space. We will not tolerate any discrimination, harassment, or any other forms of emotional harm.
12. Honour your needs & respect the needs of others.
Listen to your body and mind; honour your emotional and mental needs. Respect the unique and different needs of each member of our community.
13. Trust and learn from the silence.
Remember that silence is not always a bad thing. It is a wonderful time for observing, reflecting, and learning.
14. Respect others' perspectives, experiences, and decisions.
Respect that each individual is an expert of their own life, and each individual is free to have their own ideas and make their own choices.
15. Nurture confidence.
Support and validate your community members in their endeavours to be their most authentic selves.
16. Use inclusive language.
Be mindful of the terminology you are using. Be open when listening to others' perspectives and feedback on your language.
17. What's said here stays here. What's learned here leaves here.
Leave stories heard, take away knowledge gained.
18. Communicate respectfully.
Always communicate with courtesy and respect. When opinions don't align, respectfully disagree.
19. Curiosity in conflict.
Disagreeing is normal; when conflict occurs, use it as an opportunity to open your mind, learn from others, build understanding and empathy. If any kind of conflict arises, you may also contact us to explain the nature of the conflict and we will work together to determine an appropriate course of action.
20. Report inappropriate behaviour.
If you witness any abusive or inappropriate behaviour, let the Empower'em team know.
21. Provide trigger warnings.
Ask permission and provide trigger warnings before sharing something that may be upsetting to someone. Give each other permission to share and permission to say no before engaging in a difficult conversation.
Members can sign in to suggest additions or report a concern.