Objective

The U.S. will be short an estimated 86,000 physicians by 2036, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, and many students who could close that gap are stopped before they can get there. For example, applying to several medical schools can cost up to $500 in fees, before the $355 MCAT, and a veterinary licensing exam costs $800. The fees may not be much for some, but for others, it could make or break their career journey.

Colgate-Palmolive's business focuses on these same fields. Oral care, personal care, pet nutrition and skin health depend on a workforce of dentists, hygienists, veterinarians and research scientists. The company has also committed publicly to making an impact on people, pets and the planet. 

In 2019, Colgate teamed up with 1,000 Dreams Fund (1DF), a national 501(c)(3), to become the Title Sponsor of their MentorHER Initiative. MentorHER connects partner companies and their employees to college or graduate students or early-stage professionals for 1:1, 60-minute virtual mentoring sessions. Colgate-Palmolive has been a Title Sponsor of the program ever since, opening its own workforce as the mentor pool, with three goals:

• Support students with mentorship, including those who are pursuing CP professions in healthcare
• Enroll at least 100 mentors to pair with students and entry-level workers on an annual basis
• Build a recurring employee volunteer program that drives tangible and meaningful impact over time

Taking this commitment a step further, Colgate-Palmolive committed to accelerating healthcare careers through the launch of 1,000 Dreams Fund's Colgate-Palmolive Scholars Award program in 2024, which annually awards nine $2,000 grants a year for students pursuing degrees in the field.

Strategy

This partnership works not only because the organizations' ideals are aligned but also because of how well they complement each other for the greater mission—supporting underrepresented young women and students in healthcare and beyond to be included in the workforce. 

Mentorship is what keeps students and early-career professionals in these fields. In a randomized study published in Nature Communications, women assigned a mentor in their first year graduated with a STEM degree at 92%, versus 81% for those who had no mentor, and completed internships at 82% versus 61%. 

Mentors are found through company-wide outreach and Colgate's employee resource groups, including the Colgate Women's Network. Mentors are Colgate employees volunteering at least an hour to a student that has been matched based on career goals and interests to ensure a high impact session. Once a mentor signs up from the Colgate network, 1DF handles the rest from matching to scheduling to post-session impact surveying.

But Colgate’s commitment to 1:1 mentorship does not stop there. Their team also supports an annual virtual career mentorship workshop during CP Cares Day, their annual day of mentorship. Each workshop opens with a keynote from Colgate-Palmolive executives. For instance in 2021, Joanna Zucker, CEO of Colgate-owned PCA Skin, headlined "Get Your Dream Job," a session on how companies actually hire.

The greatest barrier to saying yes to mentorship is the time commitment that is often involved. Busy professionals and students often find the bar too high when multi-month sessions are required over a period of time. By focusing on just one hour and ensuring high impact through well-matched parings, 1DF, supported by Colgate-Palmolive, has generated incredible impact for students who may have never had access to a mentor in the first place.

To further drive their commitment to students in healthcare, in 2024, the funding component arrived. Students in the 1DF network pursuing degrees in healthcare are invited to apply annually to the Colgate-Palmolive Scholars program, which offer nine $2,000 scholarships. The award covers the “extras” – costs that often go unfunded by traditional scholarship programs like educational conferences, STEM instructional programs, exam application fees, accreditation coursework and textbooks.

Results

Colgate-Palmolive employees have given 750 of the 2,600 mentorship hours that MentorHER has delivered since 2019. Nearly 30% of the program's total has come as a result of the partnership, the equivalent of one person working full time for more than four months. The results at-a-glance include:

Mentorship

• 233 Colgate-Palmolive employees have served as mentors, with a 30% return rate
• 450 students matched and 400 sessions completed
• Seven annual workshops led by Colgate-Palmolive leaders

Funding

• Two cohorts funded: 18 scholars and $36,000 in grants
• An average of 500 applications a cycle, rising year over year

Visibility

• The newswire announcement draws more than 150 pickups and an estimated 68MM reach, placing in outlets like Yahoo Finance, Benzinga, and local newspapers across the U.S.

Where the money went

The award covers costs that tuition scholarships cannot. A recent example includes:

Jillian W., an occupational therapy student at Hanover College, put hers toward the AOTA Institute for Future Scientists. 

Sarah G., an MD-PhD student at Caltech, applied hers to the conferences where she presents her research."Winning this scholarship was the push I needed to continue applying for aid for my program," she said.

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