The following blog is part of a group research project from Michael’s classwork in his journey toward a Masters degree from Harvard University

Gender Equality is one of the various United Nations Global Issues. Besides being a fundamental human right, achieving equality is the only way we can reach full human potential. Despite women making up 51% of the United States population and outperforming men academically, they have not progressed to positions of prominence and influence. Currently only 21% of leadership positions are held by women in the United States. There are various reasons for this, but a lack of confidence and networking opportunities are the two factors we can easily solve. Seat at the Table is the fastest growing network of verified mentors and industry leaders who help ambitious women level up and make a meaningful impact in the workforce.

Seat at the Table is an easy-to-use platform that allows women to network up rather than across. Research shows that women tend to network with peers or lower-level staff verses more senior staff. To combat this, our services guides women to network and build meaningful relationships. Through research we found that 87% of mentors and mentee feel empowered by this relation. Mentees are promoted 5 times more often than those without mentors and mentee themselves are 6 times likely to be promoted. By building a solid network of women, our product perfectly matches verified mentors with mentees, open doors and break down barriers that women face in the workplace.

Our serviceable available market is all the women in the United States. However, we are not the only service that caters to women’s professional needs. We are different from our competitors because we have state-of-the-art innovative technology that can match you with the perfect mentor or mentee. We ensure customers reach their goals by tracking progress made by both mentors and mentee as well as provide maximal amount of privacy for our customers.

Our mentor network is built in 3 levels. The Top-Level Mentor Tier consists of popular and influential industry leaders. The Mid-Level Mentor Tier consisted of successful women in business. The Entry-Level Mentor Tier consisted of trained mentors and life coaches.

Our mentees are professional women aged in their 30s to 40s who earn between $75-$100k. These are career-oriented women who have the resources to spend on their professional development. Even though they are talented and driven, they continue to face barriers at work which prevent them from progressing. They need a mentor, someone who supports and champions their success and growth. Seat at the Table allows women develop these meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships.

Customers can trial our product through a freemium to premium model. Once they are ready to match, they can upgrade to one of our various subscription packages. Organizations and companies who advocate for equal growth and representation of women in the workplace, can also purchase our product in the form of bulk subscriptions.

Our product, price and promotional strategy go hand in hand to ensure our customers find value and reach their career goals. Women can advocate for gender equality as the customer journey progresses. Tell a friend, share their story, and distribute opportunity kits to women in other parts of the world. This not only strengthens our relationship with our customers but also introduces Seat at the Table to women facing similar challenges.

Team Members: Johanna Marie Alonzo, Maria Carolina De Bourbon, Maha Haider,

Sean Muldoon and Michael Sorrentino

1: United Nations. Gender Equality. https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/gender-equality. Accessed 2021 October 22. Web

2: Statistics Times. “Gender Ratio in the World” https://statisticstimes.com/demographics/world-sex-ratio.php. Accessed 2021 November 22. Web.

3: Catalyst: Workplace that Work for Women. “Women in Management (Quick Take)” https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-in-management/. 2020 August 11. Web

4: Why women build less effective networks than men: The role of structural exclusion and personal hesitation – https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0018726718804303

5: Cronin, Nicola. “Mentoring Statistics: The Research You Need To Know” https://www.guider-ai.com/blog/mentoring-statistics-the-research-you-need-to-know. 2020 February 03. Web