The founder of a Washington, D.C.-based startup calls her company the eHarmony “for connecting minorities and women in tech to career mentors from companies” during her interview on What’s Working in Washington.

Janice Omadeke, founder and CEO of The Mentor Method, explained how her company works to increase the number of female and monitories in leadership positions at companies through the benefits of mentorship.

Omadeke said “it’s shocking that we still have to have these conversations in 2017” about the ability of a woman to lead a company. Despite mountains of evidence showing the prowess of female leaders, many women are forced to “take extra steps and extra energy” to close the gap in leadership.

Mentorship can help these women and minorities navigate these challenges by learning from current leaders.

Whether it’s working their way up in a company or starting one from scratch, women and minorities will need to prove their resilience to withstand and learn from multiple rejections, and the ability to adjust or pivot accordingly, Omadeke said.

One of the most important skills is an acute awareness for how one is perceived, and how to combat any stereotypes.

“Going into any sort of negotiation, knowing your numbers and being able to speak knowledgeably about your business makes a huge difference,” she said.

Omadeke also said that finding common ground is very useful.

When looking for mentorship, one of the most overlooked places in the D.C. area is within the community of minority entrepreneurs, said Omadeke.

“They might not be as widely publicized, they might not be in the spreads of Fortune magazine, but they have that wealth of knowledge, that grit, that drive, that determination, that you really need in order to build a million-dollar business,” she said.

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