Women's Peer Network Program: A 12-Month Guide to Building Sustainable Support Circles

1. Program Introduction & Benefits

This program is a structured 12-month journey designed to establish enduring peer mentoring groups for women. It synthesizes evidence-based models—Communities of Practice, Lean-In style circles, and the 70-20-10 learning framework—to create a psychologically safe environment where women can build strategic networks, navigate professional barriers, and foster collective leadership. The core essence is the creation of self-sustaining circles that provide continuous mutual support, coaching, and advocacy.

Strategic Benefits for Participants:

• Sustainable Support System: Moves beyond one-off networking events to establish a dedicated, trusted peer group that provides ongoing advice, accountability, and encouragement for long-term career and personal growth.
• Enhanced Strategic Networking: Equips women with tools and confidence to intentionally build and leverage diverse professional networks, gaining access to critical information, opportunities, and potential sponsors.
• Increased Leadership Agency & Visibility: Provides a practice space to develop and refine leadership presence, self-advocacy skills, and the ability to navigate gendered workplace dynamics, leading to greater professional influence.
• Accelerated Skill Application: Leverages the 70-20-10 model, ensuring that over 70% of learning comes from real-world application within the safety of the peer circle, translating insights directly into actionable career progress.
• Alumni Network Integration: Guarantees a pathway for continued growth by transitioning active circles into a broader, self-directed alumni community, ensuring the support system persists beyond the formal program duration.

2. Program Expansion Strategy

Evaluation: The primary goal is to "establish peer mentoring groups." While peer mentoring is the core, this is distinct from a traditional top-down mentorship or professional coaching program. The research strongly indicates that a supplemental structured mentorship layer would significantly enhance outcomes.

Value of Adding a Mentorship Layer: Integrating a formal mentorship component connects circle participants with senior leaders (both women and allies) who can provide sponsorship, high-level organizational insight, and advocacy that peers may not yet be positioned to offer. This bridges the gap between peer support and organizational power structures, directly addressing the challenge of limited access to informal networks. It provides role models, accelerates professional visibility, and brings external perspectives into the peer learning ecosystem.

Implementation Note: In Months 2-3, launch a parallel, optional "Mentor Match" initiative. Use a streamlined process to pair each peer circle with 1-2 senior leader mentors. These mentors would not attend regular circle meetings but would engage quarterly in activities such as "Ask-Me-Anything" sessions, reviewing circle collective goals, or facilitating introductions to their networks. This creates a lightweight but powerful bridge to senior leadership without overburdening participants or diluting the peer circle's primary function.

3. Implementation Roadmap

Launch Phase (Months 0-1)

• $render`✓` Finalize Program Charter: Define clear objectives, success metrics (from Section 4), and participant commitment expectations.
• $render`✓` Recruit & Select Participants: Market the program's value proposition. Use a brief application to assess commitment and ensure diverse representation across functions, seniority, and background.
• $render`✓` Conduct Orientation Workshop: Host a kickoff session to build excitement, introduce core frameworks (GROW model, psychological safety), and communicate the 12-month journey.
• $render`✓` Form Peer Circles: Intentionally create circles of 6-8 women. Use a combination of shared interests, complementary skills, and diverse backgrounds to form groups.
• $render`✓` Circle Foundation Session: Facilitate initial circle meetings to co-create a "Circle Charter" (norms, meeting cadence, confidentiality rules) and set shared goals.
• $render`✓` Administer Baseline Survey: Collect data on current network size, confidence levels, and career advancement goals.

Tracking & Operations (Months 2-11)

• $render`✓` Monthly Thematic Workshops: Deliver core content aligned with the four pillars (e.g., Month 4: Strategic Networking; Month 7: Navigating Bias).
• $render`✓` Circle Meeting Support: Provide each circle with a standard monthly agenda template (Check-in, Thematic Discussion, GROW Peer Coaching, Action Commitments) and a private channel on the selected Internal Social Network.
• $render`✓` Program Manager Check-ins: Schedule brief, quarterly check-ins with each circle facilitator to offer support, gather feedback, and identify any needs for intervention.
• $render`✓` Community Building: Organize 2-3 program-wide events (e.g., guest speaker sessions, cross-circle networking socials) to foster a broader community identity.
• $render`✓` Mid-Point Review (Month 6): Conduct a program-wide reflection workshop and survey to assess progress against Milestones 1-3 and adjust content or support as needed.

Success Measurement

• Quantitative KPIs:
  • Individual: % increase in network connections; number of concrete actions completed from circle meetings; promotion/new role rate during/after program.
  • Circle: 100% of circles meeting monthly; 85%+ average attendance rate; number of cross-circle collaborations initiated.
  • Program: 90%+ participant retention; Net Promoter Score (NPS) from post-program survey.
• Qualitative Feedback Mechanisms:
  • Pulse Surveys: Deployed at Months 3, 6, and 9, focusing on perceived support, confidence, and skill application.
  • Focus Groups: Conducted at Month 6 and 12 with a sample of participants to gather deep narrative feedback on impact.
  • Outcome Stories: Systematically collect and share anonymized testimonials detailing specific career advancements attributed to circle support.

4. Approved Tools List

• ERG Program Software: PRIMARY TOOL. This is the optimal category as the program is a structured, cohort-based initiative for a specific demographic (women). It provides dedicated features for managing participants, circles, events, and communications in one platform, aligning perfectly with the Community of Practice model.
• Internal Social Network: ESSENTIAL SUPPLEMENT. Provides the informal, always-on communication layer for peer circles and the broader alumni community. Enables resource sharing, asynchronous support, and sustained connection between formal meetings, which is critical for continuous support.
• LMS (Learning Management System): FOR CONTENT DELIVERY. Hosts recorded workshop videos, downloadable toolkits (e.g., GROW model guide, network mapping template), and pre/post surveys. Provides a scalable, trackable repository for the program's formal (10%) learning component.

Justification: Mentorship/Coaching Software is not selected as the primary tool because the core unit is the peer circle, not a formal 1:1 mentor-mentee match. An ERG platform better supports group management. A Personality Test could be used optionally in circle formation but is not essential. An Onboarding Platform is not relevant for a long-term development program.

5. Resource & Content Library

General Program Content

• Article/Guide: "Building Psychological Safety in Your Peer Circle"
• Video Topic: "The GROW Model for Peer Coaching: A Step-by-Step Guide"
• Toolkit: "Strategic Network Mapping: Identify Your Allies, Sponsors, and Gaps"
• Workshop Framework: "Navigating Microaggressions: Role-Play Scenarios and Response Strategies"
• Article/Guide: "From Peer Circle to Legacy: Designing Your Group's Sustainable Future"
• Template: "Circle Charter Co-Creation Worksheet"
• Video Topic: "Collective Advocacy: How to Sponsor and Promote Your Circle Members"

Supplemental Mentoring Content Table

To support the peer mentoring goal and the optional senior mentor layer, the following skill-building resources are recommended.

Skill Area	Resource Type	Description / Topic
Active Listening	Micro-learning Video	"Listening to Understand vs. Listening to Respond"
Giving Feedback	Guide & Checklist	"The SBI Model (Situation-Behavior-Impact) for Peer Feedback"
Goal Setting	Worksheet	"Setting SMART Goals for Career and Leadership Growth"
Building Trust	Article	"Vulnerability and Confidentiality as Foundations of Mentoring"
Sponsorship vs. Mentorship	Infographic	"The Difference and How to Actively Sponsor Your Peers"
Holding Accountability	Guide	"Peer Accountability: Supportive Check-ins Without Judgment"