Women in Arbitration ("WIA") is pleased to announce the launch of the "WE GROW WIA Mentorship and Coaching Programme" ("Programme"). We are inviting applications from practitioners.

What we offer：

The core idea behind the Programme is to help female professionals in the field of international arbitration develop their careers. The Programme consists of two sub-programs – the Mentorship Programme and the Coaching Programme:

1. Mentorship Programme: Targeting junior practitioners (age up to 35 years old or <10 years of experience in the field) to be matched with a more experienced practitioner (a mentor).

The main goal of the Mentorship Programme is to offer advice and guidance on building a career in the field. 

2. Coaching Programme: Targeting more senior practitioners (age above 35 years old or >10 years of experience in the field) to be matched with a more experienced practitioner (a coach).

The main goal of the Coaching Programme is to focus on topics defined or desired by a coachee who believes coaching in that particular area(s) and additional individual support is needed. Topics can include professional skills in arbitration (like drafting skills for arbitral awards etc.) and other topics such as building networks in professional circles, conflict management, enhancing listening skills etc. Topics are open to being further determined by coachees and coaches in an individual relationship. 

How does it work：

This year we have been privileged to secure the following mentors / coaches: Zhang Lixia, Melody Wang, Chiann Bao, Shahla Ali, Zhang Xi, Winnie Tam, Connie Lee, Sun Binbin, Monika Prusinowska. Upon admission to the programmes, the mentees and coachees will be matched with our mentors and coaches. For brief introduction of the mentors / coaches, please see this link​. 

The Programme runs for one year (it can be, however, subject to change in case of participants in an individual relationship). We provide guidelines on what both parties can and should expect from the Programme (incl. how parties can contact each other, how they can potentially interact etc.; again, this can be further designed by individuals in a given relationship). To further support both sides, we offer a point of contact to ask any questions related to the Programme, both before and after the matching. The contact email address is WIA.wegrow@hkiac.org. 

Among the gains of the Programme are：

• Providing help and guidance in developing a career in the field;
• Expanding the pool of female professionals in the field and thereby improving gender equality;
• Shaping the expertise of female practitioners in the field;
• Further building network of WIA members;
• Enlarging WIA's impact and sharing individual career experience in a trustworthy environment;
• Creating cooperation opportunities, for example, for research, co-authoring articles etc.

The application process is open and voluntary. We especially welcome WIA members to apply. If you have not been a WIA member yet, it is very easy to join us – please see here.

The first stage is submitting a written application (please find the form with instructions here). The second stage is the selection of individual coachees and mentees (here an interview may be required).

We are currently seeking five mentees and five coaches.

The deadline for written applications is 23 June 2021.

In case of any questions, please contact us: WIA.wegrow@hkiac.org 

WIA was launched by HKIAC in February 2018. The initiative is committed to the promotion and success of female practitioners in international arbitration and related practice areas in China. WIA provides a forum for members to consider and discuss current topics, grow networks and business relationships, and develop the next generation of leading female practitioners.

Membership of WIA is free. To join WIA and receive regular updates on WIA activities, please subscribe here​.