EmpowHER Mentoring Program Provides Career Inspiration for Women Team Members

As part of Sands’ commitment to nourishing a culture of growth and development and placing high value on diversity, equity and inclusion, the company supports Team Member-led resource groups that promote these values through networking, developmental programs, mentorship and community engagement. For women in the EmpowHER Team Member resource group, mentoring has been one of the prime benefits of participation.

EmpowHER’s mentorship program matches members with women leaders who are further along in their careers to provide guidance and insights on how to prepare for advancement, navigate challenges and pursue opportunities.

Some of the top benefits EmpowHER mentees appreciate is the opportunity to gather viewpoints from people they don’t normally work with and access to personal coaching on how to advance in their careers.

“Getting perspective from my mentor on how to navigate leadership challenges has been very helpful,” Melissa Gutierrez, director of global benefits in corporate human resources, said. “Her insights have given me a much larger perspective in how to navigate things as a leader, and it has taught me how to be assertive.”

“My mentor has also helped me to see things in a very holistic way,” she continued. “I was looking at things in a very linear way. She helped me look ahead to where I want to be.”

Alexandra Lanford, director in development compliance, said having a mentor has helped her better understand how to pursue her career goals within the company.

“My mentor has been with Sands for a long time, and I’ve really enjoyed listening to her experiences, especially her career growth and trajectory, and how she fueled her upward mobility,” Lanford said. “She encouraged me to take the next step in my career and helped me plan proactive steps to advance myself and not just wait for it to happen. She really helped me build a sense of confidence and a feeling of belonging at Sands. She empowered me.”

Rayna Lanigan, executive director of finance for Sands Aviation, is both a mentor and a mentee, gaining valuable benefits from both roles.

“As a mentor, it is gratifying to help other women navigate challenging situations,” Lanigan said. “I can leverage my skill sets and career path to help other women not make the same mistakes I did. I also try to provide a different perspective to their approach for a challenging situation.

“I’m also a mentee, and my mentor is in the company’s legal group,” she continued. “I would never have interacted with her outside of this opportunity. She has walked a different career path and helped me prepare and navigate my career as I have more engagements with executives. The biggest benefit from having her as my mentor is getting access to her different perspective and skill set.”

Mentees expressed appreciation to the leaders of EmpowHER for seeing the value of offering a mentoring program and investing time and effort to make it succeed.

“I feel like my sense of community and collaboration at Sands has increased because of EmpowHER,” Lanford said. “I’m so glad that we have this group. I feel a deep appreciation for our company’s women leaders for creating this group, and the time and effort everyone has put into it.”

 Gutierrez agrees: “Anyone who has been successful has had mentors, but it can be hard to find or identify them. Allowing people to connect this way has been really beneficial.”

Sands’ regions also offer programs to promote the success of women Team Members. At Marina Bay Sands, the resort has an EmpowHER Team Member resource group for women. Last year, the group hosted several engagement sessions, including panel discussions and lunch sessions that connected Team Members with company leaders for topical conversations. The group also organized a mentorship program, allowing mentors and mentees to connect in meaningful ways and share challenges and aspirations.

Sands China has held similar sharing sessions for women, and last year officially launched the Return to Work program it had been piloting. More than 100 applicants attended the kickoff, which offered sessions with professional women from different fields and job-matching interviews. Through the Return to Work program, dozens of participants become part of a six-month work/training initiative.

To learn more about workforce development and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at Sands, read the latest ESG report: https://www.sands.com/resources/reports/