Created in 2017, Women@Dior is Christian Dior Couture’s mythical international mentoring program that has coached thousands of young women all over the world. The program is a unique occasion to learn what is not taught: self-confidence and a solidarity network among others.
Participants are selected from the best business, engineering, art and fashion schools spanning across almost 20 different countries such as France, the UK, China and Australia just to name a few. They are guided by their Dior Mentors as they take their first steps in their careers and whilst they build their professional experience.
Each Mentee/Mentor duo shares an exclusive relationship and is mostly matched through an innovative approach based on their compatibility.
The program is built around 4 core values :
A major step in 2020 is the exciting launch of the Women Leadership & Sustainability Education Program dedicated to the topic of gender equality and women’s leadership for a responsible future.
This new initiative highlights the crucial importance of education in imagining a more sustainable and solidary world. Through the exchange of knowledge, this program will enable young women to build a better future by developing their autonomy.
Combining high standards and excellence, this multilayered and ethically minded year-long program is open to +500 international students and is based on the Women@Dior four fundamental values. These four themes will be taught through exclusive courses led by professors chosen from some of the world’s most prestigious institutions, including Central Saint Martins in London, Bocconi University in Milan, and HEC and CentraleSupélec in Paris.
Following theoretical coursework, participants will be invited to put what they learned into practice by creating a project that supports the empowerment of young girls: the “Dream for Change” project. The most impactful projects will be eligible to receive support from the House of Dior and the LVMH group.
Dior supports and joins UNESCO’s Global Education Coalition by opening its Women@Dior program to one hundred talented young female students from Niger, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Jamaica, Pakistan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. on the occasion of World Youth Skills Day, Dior is joining the Global Education Coalition founded by UNESCO. This initiative, which is being supported by a couture house for the first time, gives the most disadvantaged female students the opportunity to receive an education focused on inclusion. A concrete commitment, in view of the societal stakes, and in the context of a global health crisis.
“Talent is universal, but opportunity is not, especially for a generation of young women whose education has been severely affected by the pandemic. By joining the Global Coalition with an initiative that empowers and carries promise for the future, the Dior couture house is sending a strong message of commitment and confidence, giving young women from disadvantaged backgrounds the chance to fulfill their dreams,”
Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education
Australie 2018 - © Christian Dior Couture, 2018
Dubaï 2018 - © Christian Dior Couture, 2018
“This program has really inspired the young women. For us real life involves competing, dreaming and loving. I’m so happy to have met so many talented women from around the world and to have learnt something from them. I hope there will be more contact in the future and that we can build a bridge between women from different countries.”
Thank you for giving us such a marvellous experience at the launch. It was a real pleasure to learn a bit of Maison Dior’s history. I would like to thank all the people I met during the program for their reception and their exceptional care which was far beyond what I was expecting.”
“I was very impressed with how us students were treated by both Maison Dior and their mentors. It was formal and polite. More importantly everyone had a respectful attitude towards each other. Even though I’m only a young student and participating as a mentee, each supervisor and mentor had a positive attitude and was open to what I said and asked. The atmosphere was both formal and luxurious and I really felt Dior’s trademark image. It was a precious experience.”
“The Women@Dior event was such an amazing and formative experience. The workshops and speakers at the event really put into perspective the unique challenges and triumphs that we face as women in the workforce and how we can overcome societal barriers to make our mark on the world. These lessons, as well as the strong connections I was able to make with fellow mentees and mentors, made for a truly unforgettable experience.”
Women@Dior is an invitation-only program. All participants are selected based on three criteria: talent, ambition and generosity. They are all young women full of promise and potential who study at one of Dior’s partner universities and are available to attend the global conference in Paris on December 2020. Above all, they are all united in the notion that their professional success is related to the sorority. This year, Dior is also proud to announce that there will be a special focus on granting scholarships in order to allow everyone the chance to participate.
The recruitment campaign is now over. Applications for 2021 will open in the beginning of next year.
“Women, who have such strong natural instinct, must have understood that I not only dreamed of making them more beautiful, but also happier.”
Monsieur Christian Dior, « Christian Dior and I »
