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Four Myths That Perpetuate The Scarcity of Female Mentor-Mentee Relationships

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A 2017 study found that a mere 54% of women have access to senior females who serve as mentors or informal sponsors throughout their career. There are no two ways about it. A key factor driving the shortage of female-female mentors is the general lack of understanding about the practice. More specifically, we continue to fall victim to several myths about female mentorship.

Myth 1. Female mentors proactively reach out to prospective mentees and vice versa.

A survey by Development Dimensions International found that females are very hesitant to reach out to prospective mentors. The majority of survey participants (businesswomen, most of whom were mid- or senior-level leaders) reported that they had been asked to serve as a mentor only a few times (at most) throughout their careers. One in five admitted that they’d never been approached to assume such a role. On the flip side, studies have shown that males are more likely to seek out and offer mentorship.

The comparative lack of mentoring opportunities on the part of females isn’t driven by an unwillingness among mentors; it’s simply due to the fact that requests are not there. The survey revealed that 71% of women would “always accept invitations” to act as formal career mentors.

Myth 2: Executive females lack sufficient time to assume a mentorship role.

Many females avoid seeking out executive females to act as mentors because they fear that these prospective mentors are too busy to devote the time to mentorship. There’s a widespread perception that this talent pool is too busy assuming the role of primary family caregiver in addition to their role in the workplace. This is a false assumption. The aforementioned survey found that only 1 in 10 women decline mentorship opportunities because the involvement would interfere with family time or other commitments.

Myth 3. Men reap comparatively more benefit from mentorship interactions.

Past research suggests that males may benefit more from mentorship affiliations than their female counterparts. In one study by Catalyst, men with access to mentors earned $9,260 more than women with mentors.  Data of this sort is slightly misleading. Oftentimes, studies fail to account for the fact that females typically lack access to the same caliber of mentors as their male counterparts. In this particular study, a greater percentage of men (62%) than women (52%) had access to a senior executive-level mentor (as opposed to a less qualified mentor).

Although more research needs to be performed, a recent study by UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business found that women actually benefit more from mentoring insight than males. "Women gained more social capital from affiliation with a high-status mentor than their male counterparts."

Myth 4. It's easier for females to access a male mentor than a female one.

To some extent this is true. By sheer virtue of the fact that men are more highly represented in the C-suite, it can be easier to gain access to them. The tables have recently turned, however.  In the aftermath of the #MeToo movement, men are increasingly hesitant to act as mentors to females. Research by Sheryl Sandberg's LeanIn.Org found that after media reports of sexual harassment first surfaced in large quantities in the fall of 2017, male managers are three times more likely to say they are uncomfortable mentoring women. While this is unfortunate, women need to be prepared for the new reality.

The dearth of female mentorship interactions is cause for concern. It’s especially disheartening in light of the fact that 67% of women rate mentorship as a highly important contributor in terms of advancing their careers (according to results of the Development Dimensions International survey). But there’s a lot of hope. By simply busting a few myths, we can go a long way in encouraging increased opportunities for female to female mentorship relationships.

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