Personal Development News!
A Better Approach to Mentorship
We all know that mentorships are essential to the growth of young professionals. The evidence is clear: 75% of executives credit their success to mentors and recent research shows that 90% of employees with a career mentor are happy at work.
Despite this, and despite the 84% of U.S. Fortune 500 firms that leverage mentoring programs, the majority of these programs fail employees from marginalized communities. Research shows that 71% of executives choose to mentor employees who are of their same gender or race. When 76% of CEOs are white, and white men comprise seven in 10 of the 533 executive officers named on federal regulatory forms, this becomes a big problem. It may explain why only 7.9% of CEOs are Hispanic or Latinx, only 7.8% are of Asian ethnicity, and just 3.8% are Black or African American. Most people of color either fail to reach the management level or plateau in middle management.
This disparity can be addressed if more companies prioritize “bridge mentorships,” or mentorships that intentionally connect diverse individuals to help level the playing field and provide more equal opportunities. Reshaping the mentoring landscape has the potential to empower marginalized communities, enhance talent retention, strengthen succession pipelines, and build cultures of belonging. To make this shift, both the corporations and the young professionals seeking a mentor need to better to understand why current mentoring programs often fall short.
Where Corporate Mentorship Goes Wrong
Young professionals who grew up in economically stable environments — namely middle and upper-class individuals — typically benefit from having easy access to role models in the corporate world. Their educational backgrounds often involve attending prestigious colleges and universities that offer comprehensive STEM disciplines, business development, and leadership curricula, which equip them with the professional skills necessary for effective organizational communication, networking, and overall success in the corporate environment. Growing up, their family members, coaches, and teachers likely encouraged their participation in activities such as AP classes, extracurriculars, and clubs that intentionally aimed to foster their personal growth and position them as strong candidates for those higher education institutions. Their parents may have regularly asked questions like, “What universities are you considering?”