We launched The Exchange in 2019 as part of our objective to spearhead industry change and engage more men in the gender debate. It is a cross-mentoring programme that matches industry-leading men and Bloom members. The ethos is to open up a refreshingly honest dialogue between genders to help break down the stereotypes that limit the way we interact in the workplace and work together to make our industry more equal for all.
2023 PROGRAMME
The Exchange programme is now in its fifth year. Our pairs will explore gender challenges in the workplace and together forge a new way to look at gender and the actions they can take to make change.
Last year saw positive results in all aspects of the programme, with a 31% increase in how comfortable participants were with identifying and using the right language when discussing gender divide, and a 28% increase in how confident participants felt about talking openly about the gender divide in their own organisation.
During the programme we promote:
Radical Candour - Creating a safe space within The Exchange where uncomfortable, honest, open and at times raw conversations around the gender divide
Visceral empathy - Co-mentoring of this nature allows you to feel what it's like to truly step into someone else’s shoes
Visibility - Having the opportunity to step back and look at our blind spots and biases that we all might have.
WHO TAKES PART?
Our co-mentoring scheme is open to senior men/non-binary people and Bloom members, influential within their company, who are open-minded, ready to listen and be listened to, and motivated to find a way to close the gender divide in our industry, one conversation at a time. We’re looking for participants who are able to take action or influence change within their organisation.
WHAT DOES IT INVOLVE?
All of our co-mentors attend one of our training events in September (one in-person, one virtual). Following training, our co-mentors commit to having 6 conversations in person or via video call over a 6 month period. These open and honest conversations cover topics such as inclusive leadership, empathy and bias. We’ll be actively promoting the everyday actions and change the participants drive.
We also offer conversation circles as part of The Exchange that provide an added layer to the programme as it allows the cohort to talk more widely about how the issues which have come up in their pairs can help drive action across the industry. This year at Bloom we’re looking at everything with an intersectionality lens and plan to bring this into our conversation circles.
Following high profile conversations in 2021 about sexual harassment in the industry, we hosted a session to understand how men and women can work together to truly tackle this horrific issue.
The outputs were collated in this tangible guide which many leaders and companies have gone on to use to shape their own approaches to the issue: Bloom The Exchange Conversation Circle: Uniting Against Sexual Harassment
Being part of The Exchange means you can be a part of making a true difference to the industry.
Please note that there is a £120 fee (+VAT) for men/non-binary participants which goes towards helping run the Bloom network and is partially donated to Women’s Aid, our key charity partner. Bloom members pay an annual membership fee and are not required to pay a separate fee for The Exchange.
HOW DO I APPLY?
Bloom Exchange Programme 2023 applications are now open, until the 14th July.
For senior men/non binary people, please apply here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1pqW0tmdFUgjth1_VcMBGLr82iElBOVDSyAFTqGRVaic/viewform?edit_requested=true
Current 2023 Bloom members can apply via the link on the announcements channel via application form.
For updates or any questions or queries about The Exchange, please email theexchangebloom@gmail.com
