Preparing Women to Lead

Preparing Women to Lead was the first major international project of EAF Berlin. In cooperation with the Technical University of Berlin—under the leadership of EAF founding president Barbara Schaeffer-Hegel—and other university partners from Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands, a mentoring internship program was designed and implemented for female university graduates with leadership potential.

The program was inspired by the idea that more effective tools for promoting the next generation of female leaders and novel networks between women in decision-making positions are needed to achieve true equality of opportunity in business and society.

The multi-year program, funded under the European Commission's 4th Action Program for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, served an important pilot function and had a significant signaling effect: the mentoring concept, which was still relatively unknown in Germany and the partner countries in the late 1990s, was introduced to the public here for the first time. With Preparing Women to Lead and its core components—training seminars, mentoring, and networking—the foundation was laid for numerous subsequent EAF Berlin programs. Another success factor was the development of tailored selection procedures (assessment centers) and matching methods. The program was carefully evaluated and documented in a project report.