Mentoring Experiences of High-Achieving Women

Abstract

The Problem.

Organizations in all sectors invest resources in mentoring programs to attract, develop, and retain employees. Colleges and universities do so to retain students, staff, and faculty, often with the explicit aspiration of achieving a diverse, quality learning, and working environment. Mentoring is expected to be a positive influence in one’s development. Yet high-achieving women in this qualitative study describe the presence of mentors as both a help and a hindrance and the absence of mentors as both benefit and deficit.

The Solution.

Reflections shared by women in this collective case study contribute to the discussion of the benefits and challenges of mentoring relationships. Findings suggest modifications and alternatives to traditional, formal mentoring programs will benefit a broader range of high-achieving women.

The Stakeholders.

This study’s findings concern practitioners and scholars in human resource development, higher education administration, and leadership development, along with the women mentoring programs intend to serve.

Keywords

mentoring women higher education leadership development

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Allen

T. D.

Eby

L. T.

Poteet

M. L.

Lentz

Lima

(2004). Career benefits associated with mentoring for protégés: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(1), 127-136.

Armenti

(2004). Gender as a barrier for women with children in academe. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 34(1), 1-26.

Benartzi

Thaler

(2007). Heuristics and biases in retirement savings. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 21(3), 81-104.

Biddle

B. J.

(2001). Social class, poverty and education: Policy and practice. New York, NY: Routledge Falmer.

Bourdieu

(1977). Outline of a theory of practice. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Bourdieu

(1986). The forms of capital. In Richardson

J. G.

(Ed.), Handbook of theory and research in the sociology of education (pp. 241-258). New York, NY: Greenwald Press.

Catalyst. (2007). The double-bind dilemma for women in leadership: Damned if you do, doomed if you don’t. Retrieved from http://www.catalyst.org/publication/83/the-double-bind-dilemma-for-women-in-leadership-damned-if-you-do-doomed-if-you-dont

Choi

J. J.

Laibson

Madrian

B. C.

Metrick

(2003). Optimal defaults. American Economic Review, 93(2), 180-185.

Creswell

J. W.

(1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

10.

Darwin

Palmer

(2009). Mentoring circles in higher education. Higher Education Research & Development, 28(2), 125-136.

11.

Eby

L. T.

Butts

Lockwood

Simon

(2004). Protégés’ negative mentoring experiences: Construct development and nomological validation. Personnel Psychology, 57(2), 411-447.

12.

Eby

L. T.

McManus

S. E.

Simon

S. A.

Russell

J. E. A.

(2000). The protégé’s perspective regarding negative mentoring experiences: The development of a taxonomy. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 57(1), 1-21.

13.

Gibson

(2005). Whose best interests are served? The distinction between mentoring and support. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 7(4), 470-488.

14.

Hansford

B. C.

Ehrich

L. C.

Tennent

(2004). Formal mentoring programs in education and other professions: A review of the literature. Educational Administration Quarterly, 40(4), 518-540.

15.

Hezlett

Gibson

(2005). Mentoring and human resource development: Where we are and where we need to go. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 7(4), 446-469.

16.

Kellerman

Rhode

D. L.

(2007). Women and leadership: The state of play and strategies for change. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

17.

Kram

K. E.

(1985). Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman and Company.

18.

Lareau

(2003). Unequal childhoods: Class, race, and family life. Berkeley: University of California Press.

19.

Long

(1997). The dark side of mentoring. Australian Education Research, 24(2), 115-123.

20.

Madsen

(2008). On becoming a woman leader: Learning from the experiences of university presidents. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

21.

Touchton

Musil

C. T.

Campbell

K. P.

(2008). A measure of equity: Women’s progress in higher education. Washington, DC: American Association of Colleges and Universities.

22.

Truman Scholarship Foundation. (2011). 2010-2011 bulletin of information; Notes to candidates 2011. Retrieved from http://www.truman.gov

23.

Wanberg

C. R.

Welsh

E. T.

Hezlett

S. A.

(2003). Mentoring research: A review and dynamic process model. In Martocchio

J. J.

Ferris

G. R.

(Eds.), Research in personnel and human resources management (pp. 39-124). Oxford, UK: Elsevier Science.