Lifting as We Climb: Why it Mentoring is Just the Start (Part One)

The issue surrounding women equality in the workplace is nothing new. Women make up approximately half of the population and nearly half the workforce yet their representation in leadership is not representative of their 50-50 participation rate.

According to 2016 data from Catalyst.org, women account for just 5.2% of all Fortune 500 CEO roles and only 20.2% of their board seats. Additionally, a global study of Thompson Reuters stated that equal pay and opportunities tied for second place in terms of the top challenges women faced as work (work-life balance topped at #1).

Interestingly enough, a 2013 Pew Research Center study on women in leadership in both the business and government spheres pointed to several leadership qualities women were perceived as being more competent in than men. This included being more ethical, honest, and fair as well as being more skilled at mentoring employees. However, they ranked significantly lower in their perceived ability to take on risk and negotiate profitable deals. Apart from the the skills which women were thought to have or not have, the results of the study concluded that the biggest issues facing women aspiring to climb the corporate ladder was that they were held to a higher standard than their male counterparts and that many organizations did not have a culture that was “ready”for female leadership.

For women to find themselves in an organization that is systematically unsupportive of their advancement can be disheartening to say the least. Organizational diversity in organizations, due to biases and outdated worldviews on what a woman’s “role” is, is an action that almost always has to occur intentionally for organizations. Furthermore, many organizations view it as a chore to their stakeholders who want them to “do the right thing”.The truth is that research on inclusive organizations that have more members of underrepresented groups at the top management level tend to be more engaged and creative, leading to better overall financial performance. Despite the substantial evidence that workforce diversity helps organizations become more competitive, it is still overlooked by many organizations that have other priorities in mind which affects aspiring women leaders and other minority groups with more to be desired in their jobs.

With diversity being an organization-wide issue that requires the entire system to look at itself to planning and implement a massive change, what is it that women can do in the meantime? The answer has typically been mentoring.

In a mentoring relationship, a more senior professional take another junior one under their wing to help guide them, connect them with people and resources, and provides them with tools and insight to help the get further ahead in their career. These relationships can occur both organically and independent of the firm however, many organizations will implement formal mentoring programs in between members whether they be firms, professional associations, schools, etc.

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