COACHING FOR FEMALE EMPLOYMENT IN THE DIGITAL SECTOR IN ORDER TO PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY IN THE LABOUR MARKET

4.1 The importance of the role model method for motivation female learner

To seek the positive changes in our lives, we need some inspiration, some motivation. One of the methods to motivate the learners to go forward and to change their life is the role model method.  Individuals develop their professional identity not only through the skills and knowledge but also through a process of socialisation, and the acceptance of the particular role. Role modeling is seen as an accepted method of teaching and coaching these processes. In the practice environment, professional values can be repeatedly demonstrated, theory and practice integrated, and professional roles and values acquired from role models. Therefore, role modeling is important for the motivation of learners.

4.2  Using the role model method during the facilitating process

A role model is a person who serves as an example by influencing others. The coach can encourage the female learners to look up to a variety of role models in the digital sector to help shape how they behave at work, or when making difficult decisions, and to follow the role model. An example of the role could be a real person with a successful life story or a hypothetical person-female who acts in the digital sector. 

Having a role model is extremely important to have a positive influence on the learner’s outlook towards employment in the digital sector. The role model will be a motivation to the learner, and it does not matter whether the role model is a coding guru, a web page developer or a digital designer. Remind your learners that a role model in life also encourages us to lead life in the same standard as they do and will also push us to work harder for our aim and become successful. These are the five crucial reasons why the learner needs a role model:

Know about the personality traits of a successful person

The term ‘success’ has a certain subjectivity attached to it. So, if you consider someone your role model, it essentially means that the person has done something successful according to you.

Learn how to overcome adversity

Everyone in life faces obstacles at some point or the other. Successful people also have had their share of hurdles that they had to overcome. A role model teaches you to never give up and how to deal with any future setbacks in the course of journey to success.

Everyone makes mistakes

Yes, we are all humans and we tend to make mistakes here and there. Even your role model must have made a mistake at some point of his or her life. However, our role models never got disappointed with their mistakes, rather, their mistakes taught them life lessons.

Be the best version of yourself

You get to learn plenty from your role models. This also helps you in persevering with your goals and at the same time, advancing your skills as well as improving your personality. So, make the best use of their accomplishments as your guide to better yourself so that you can become someone else’s role model.

Setting higher aims

When you follow the principles of your role model who has faced hardships to become successful in the digital sector, you tend to motivate yourself to become like her. By following your role model’s principles, you will eventually become confident yourself and feel stimulated. The positive influence of role models also encourages you to set bigger goals in life.

Having a role model in life can help individuals to improve their life and their attitude towards it.

4.3  Recognition and collection examples of good practices

According to Wikipedia, “A best practice is a method or technique that has been generally accepted as superior to any alternatives because it produces results that are superior to those achieved by other means, or because it has become a standard way of doing things”.

Best practices are important for processes that you need to work correctly. They are simply the best way to do things and have been worked out through trial and error, and are found to be the most sensible way to proceed.

Best practices can keep evolving as new and better solutions are found or evolve from better awareness, new technology, or simply different ways of looking at things. So, it is important to guide your learners to recognise and collect examples of good practices in accordance with their needs and situation. Maybe they know some successful female who has some significant achievements in the digital sector? Maybe they know some person who has started to improve their digital skills and found a new job in the digital sector? Maybe there are some social networks or groups where people can meet and share their best practice in the digital sector? There are many ways in which we are able to collect these examples.

4.4  Using examples of good practices during the facilitating process

The coach uses examples of good practices during the facilitating process and encourages female learners to seek for good practices on the Internet or other sources, and discuss the possibility to follow it. Finding best practices is simply taking the time to research what you are planning to do and finding the best way to go about getting it done. One of the examples are the digital stories of successful women in the digital sector of the labour market collected during the Godigal project. The adult-educator coach can follow the link https://godigital.lmlo.lt/success_stories.html , go through the stories in national languages and discuss with the learners about these women, their way to the digital sector. Also, the learners can find the success stories by themselves as well and share in the group. The best practice and success stories are the inspiration to the learners to seek their own goals.

Links for the self-learning

https://www.thatcompany.com/what-are-best-practices-and-why-are-they-important

What is role modelling?

https://www.rootsofaction.com/role-model/

https://reva.edu.in/blog/5-reasons-you-need-a-role-model/