Mentoring and Women in Academia: Reevaluating the Traditional Model

Abstract

The proliferation of literature and research on mentors suggests that mentoring relationships provide a unique perspective on career development in a variety of fields and vocations. Much of this research seems to concur that having a mentor is an important component to successful career advancement and, conversely, that the lack of a mentor may hinder timely progression. However, much of this research has identified male career patterns and subsequently used those as a standard against which to measure women's experience. Such a practice can lead to the conclusion that women's approach to mentoring is deficient or inferior in some way. Instead it is useful to view women's career progression within the context of women's overall defined roles and social position. The question of interest here is, Does the traditional mentor-protege model reflect women's experience? And if not, what does? The research on mentors, primarily, has focused on the career progression of young adults as they are socialized into the world of business and management. In this body of literature, a mentor has generally been defined as an experienced adult who guides, advises, and supports an inexperienced protege for the purpose of furthering his or her career (Burke et al. 1990; Clark and Corcoran 1986; Cronan-Hillix et al. 1986; Kram and Isabella 1985; Levinson 1978; Noe 1988; Wright and Wright 1987). There is evidence that this traditional mentoring model does not adequately mirror women's experience in academia. Specifically, research on women's mentorship experience in academia has critical limitations. For example, peer mentoring may be an important source of support and guidance for women, but it has not been thoroughly evaluated (Kram 1985). Also, career interruptions related to family or caretaking roles may impede the formation of relationships according to the traditional mentoring model (Gerson 1987). And there is evidence that women who pursue careers in traditionally male-dominated fields, such as engineering, mathematics, and science, plan to interrupt or reduce their labor-force participation to accommodate their expected child rearing. Men generally do not incorporate family plans into their career