Meghan’s birthday video

[Greenlittle]

I like the idea and I like the video. (Not that keen on the big desk) And I though MM looked...alive!

Not sure who the other woman was. But there was good chemistry.

@LolaSmilesfor some reasoning your posts now seems more like you have an axe to grind with Meghan. Men - she didn't say men don't need it , that is your assumption or trying to find negativity from any angle it's not even a constructive criticism/ you just made it up to beef up your agenda
I didn't mention anything about men needing or not needing mentoring.

I also don't have an axe to grind against meghan. I've said repeatedly with her platform she could do lots, have said it's right to call out racism, right to challenge bulling and said there are some people who would have an issue with anything she does.

I also have said that people should be able to discuss, challenge and criticise this initiative without others immediately jumping to claims of hate and bullying, or worse some 'agenda'.

The public initiatives of ALL celebrities and public figures should be open to debate and challenge.

@Greenlittle

Um, my employment is my responsibility. I don’t want someone else to find me a job. But a mentoring network with contacts and leads would be lovely!

For the people who want to sit at hone and be handed a job and childcare vouchers...well please ask Kate to help you, through donating some of the taxpayer handouts the rf gets or through her influential “work” on children. And you can comfortable sit on the sofa waiting for it to never happen

This diversion to Kate is funny I guess it’s a knee jerk thing now. Meghan - must mention Kate.

Why is it better for Stella McCartney to chat to someone rather than place someone in her business?

In the recent past workplaces would give the usual people the account and take the female out to lunch for a motivational talk. Why would you want to be stuck there?

The new approach is better. Companies are asking people to not just talk but do - give the work to the unrepresented.

We’re moving on and it’s a good thing for women and other under represented groups.

The criteria by which mentoring can be defined as successful are very nebulous. It is impossible to define whether someone got a job because of their mentoring or because they just applied for it. This sadly means it is an ideal bandwagon for self-serving brand builders to jump on to. The day they demonstrate positive outcomes (if that could ever be possible) is the day we should be thanking them for it.
I have been involved with mentoring schemes at work, not just for women, and found them pointless. I have worked in a highly paid environment (often multiples of six figures) for the past 40 years (including seven as a single mother), almost 40% of my colleagues are women, and I don't believe mentoring helped any of us. If it helps a single person, I'm all for it, but this programme is designed to build Meghan's brand and the value it adds to anyone else's life is going to be pretty incidental.

Can’t the “great work” on early years translate into tangible benefits, such as childcare vouchers that people here are banging on about?

And how exactly are you measuring the effectiveness and greatness of her work?

I’m focused on the “work” Kate does because my taxes fund her and her work and lifestyle

I think mentioning Kate on a UK forum when she is concentrating on children in the UK, versus Meghan based in US with many of the 40 and those picking up the baton and running with it (as illustrated in some of my links which have probably not been read by some ) is not 'waaah, people are so mean'
It's common sense.

The public initiatives of ALL celebrities and public figures should be open to debate and challenge
Nobody's stopping you, hence the posts on here. But don't be surprised if others push back against the more ridiculuous criticism. That's debate and challenge too

I’ve benefited hugely from mentoring and I am in a senior role. It helps with getting the right contacts, understanding what to emphasise in your CV to get the job, rising up and moving into new fields.

I would not commit to hiring someone, but I would commit to mentoring g. It is simply being practical about what support can be offered and how it can help.

@C8H10N4O2

Of course it won't start a conversation in government or in business, this is the problem. Making unemployment the responsibility of individual women without discussing systemic issues just makes inequality more entrenched

Oh dear gods this is the exact model of argument I've been hearing from (mostly) MD lefty men since I was a teenager. Don't do anything that will touch the life of individuals women, come the glorious revolution all will magically be better. Now chaps lets get down the pub and the girls will wash up.

People dismissing as a "lefty argument" the idea that the state is responsible for promoting an equal society and that no one should be unfairly treated, is exactly the kind of thing that Meghan could have addressed.

'The public initiatives of ALL celebrities and public figures should be open to debate and challenge.'

Yes people do not want patronising Mentorship, they want jobs. So, if was a high profile person I'd use my privileged platform to get my privileged pals to sponsor one person each. So 40 pals, 40 jobs. To pay for their training and childcare. Not be a 'yah I'm mentoring someone via zoom sweetie telling them all about my squillions it's spiffing good fun! chin chin'.

'Why is it better for Stella McCartney to chat to someone rather than place someone in her business?'

Exactly.

but this programme is designed to build Meghan's brand
Do you honestly honestly think that some of the names that she has brought on board for this would do it knowing its just to build her brand?
The Doctors, the scientists, Stacy Abrams, Nobel prize nominee, Poet Laureate etc?

Seems a good project and will appeal to some but I question the authenticity and reasons behind it.. the PR is full on look at me I’m so empowered.. then sticking the knife in on OW.. I was made redundant last year and personally would not look to MM as a role model nor join this movement.not for me thanks. Is this classed as bullying?

How on earth do we know that this won't lead to jobs? We don't. Hard to quantify but some on here have written it off already.

Yeah lazy slacker, she hasn't solved world peace or the patriarchy so lets just snipe any any initiative she does support or front.

The issue for me isn't that she hasn't solved the patriarchy, but by failing to acknowledge systemic inequality, she actually makes it less likely that change will happen. For someone with such a huge profile, it really would be better to do nothing than to reinforce the idea that women are out of work because of some individual failing that they themselves should put right.

(I get that some of the stats are mentioned on the website, but it doesn't address the why, and again suggests that the solution is about individual women being inspired, regaining confidence etc)

I was made redundant last year and personally would not look to MM as a role model nor join this movement.not for me thanks

So if an organisation connected with your past work opened up an avenue to talk about possibilities for you, or advice for getting back into work... you would say 'no' because you don't want to look to MM as a role model

Blimey
I'd be there like a shot.

Why is it MM’s responsibility to provide jobs? Did I miss something about her becoming head of DWP?

Why is it better for Stella McCartney to chat to someone rather than place someone in her business?'

How do you know what these people are doing outside of this and how do you know that some of the mentoring won't lead to this - it's absurd that people find a way to dismiss this. It's not about debating as many of you seem to only choose to "debate"
?? On M&H threads - there are philosophical and politics thread etc etc but the names that frequent M&H threads with negativity in the* name of debate wouldn't go on those threads for a* real debate

Not to build her brand, but they would certainly not be doing it if they thought it damaged their own brand. If her brand, as a "mobiliser of compassion", works for some, and I think there is a certain type for whom it does work, then they benefit too. The downside is very limited for them - at worst they have had the opportunity to help someone.

People dismissing as a "lefty argument" the idea that the state is responsible for promoting an equal society and that no one should be unfairly treated, is exactly the kind of thing that Meghan could have addressed

I didn't dismiss it as a lefty argument, I described my experience of lefty MC men making big expansive statements instead of changing one iota of the actual status quo (which of course suited them very nicely).

When has Kate addressed it, sitting as she does in the top most branches of the UK privilege tree?

You failed to address my point. Pontificating about the big issues in the abstract achieved nothing. Grassroots campaigns supporting individual women did achieve something, albeit something which men have been pushing hard to roll back in recent years.

Good for you rousette I wouldn’t doubt for a second you’d be there like a shot.

I researched and prepared sorted out my cv and am now employed. Plenty of sites on the internet to help.
As I said Not for me.

I was made redundant last year and personally would not look to MM as a role model nor join this movement.not for me thanks
This is what I like it's not for you so you move on but I would guess you have other options (maybe the UC work coach system gets people in to jobs which is what lots of people have to rely on ) And if you were offered you would refuse which is great because there would Be many more after you and for many people this will make a huge difference to their lives !

@JaniieJones

'It is patronising to suggest that women need mentoring when actually they need financial support'

Yes. 'Mentorship' I mean wtf does that even mean. Women don't need virtual signalling head pats, they need financial support and job offers. So cut the 40 mins for 40 blah crap and actual offer something concrete.

Look at Stormzy for example. He hasn't just got his pals to 'mentor' people he is actually doing something. Financially supporting the education of students through uni, including accommodation. No cheesy gimmicky clips with loud Americans.

At the height of Meghan bullying by the press Stormzy came to her defence. So I doubt he would be impressed with being praised and compared to Meghan in this way.

I think she came across as a lot more likeable in this video than previous ones - she was not taking herself too seriously.

My gut reaction to this, however, is that it is more about PR for the Sussex brand than it is about genuinely helping others. As others have said, this is not a Harry and Meghan thing - it is a 'Celeb' thing and I think a lot of people are getting tired of it, as it feels like tokenism.

Only weeks ago they were pushing Vaccine distribution to poorer nations (along with lots of other Celebs) - what came of that? Then there was the clean up of social media. Eco Tourism? Now its woman returning to work. All great initiatives but all I remember are the soundbites and the promotional videos.

In order to convince people of their 'authenticity' they need to follow through and show the results of these initiatives otherwise it all feels rather hollow and meaningless - and to be honest patronising.

I think of all of the people that I know who are seeking work or worried about the stability of their current jobs. I can't see how 40 minutes of mentoring from someone unrelated to their current field would realistically help them. I hope to be proved wrong though - I will take back my words if we see a follow up on this in the future showing how real people have been genuinely helped through this initiative.

@hangonamo

(I get that some of the stats are mentioned on the website, but it doesn't address the why, and again suggests that the solution is about individual women being inspired, regaining confidence etc)

But M does acknowledge this - a PP stated that she didn't acknowledge this and if she had then they wouldn't mind so much. @Mummy194 - quotes the piece and still it's not enough - which is the point that the negativity towards M is so ingrained in some Posters that they will keep pushing the goal posts with demands that they would never place on any other members of the RF

I haven’t RTFT and have only glanced at Archewell but could someone clarify if the initiative is a one- off 40 minutes or a series of 40 mins ?
I ask as I mentored a junior colleague when I worked and it certainly took more than 1x 40 minute session to help her progress .

As far as I'm concerned, it's enough that Meghan is making this happen.

Give over!

You think it’s enough that despite her own initiative pushing ‘what would happen if we all committed 40 minutes to helping someone else or to mentoring someone in need?’ that she doesn’t have to do it herself? I don’t see a single valid reason why she gets a free pass. If these 40 minutes are so life changing to an individual then think what 40 minutes of her own time could do to help an aspiring actress who lost work through the pandemic.

I really have to question why someone who supposedly believes in this project wouldn’t do it themselves. Maybe she will announce something separately but if she genuinely wanted to pledge for altruistic reasons I think she would have done so already. (Again, maybe I’ve missed it but nobody has said she has so far.)

I just don’t get how it’s supposed to work. And the talk of ‘create a ripple effect’ makes me roll my eyes. If you want people to step
up and volunteer their time, then you have to facilitate that, not just send out positive vibes into the ether. I don’t understand why she didn’t simply highlight one of the wonderful mentoring charities that already exist, and encourage her friends to sign up and donate their time and money. (But of course most of these types of charities require their volunteers/mentors to make a regular commitment, not just a one off 40 minutes as they understand what actually works).