If Mentors Are So Important, Where Are They?
Where have all the mentors gone?
In a new survey of women professionals from LinkedIn, a surprising number of women say they have never had a mentor.
How many women are mentored?
- Nearly one in five, or 19%, of women in the survey say they have never had a mentor. About half of those say they simply never met anyone appropriate.
- It's not primarily unwillingness to help that dissuades women from being mentors. Instead, 67% of these women say they simply have never been asked.
Tooting your own horn is just one of the ways you can increase the likelihood that you'll shatter the glass ceiling and snag keys to that corner office. If you're uncomfortable speaking up about your accomplishments, then often times, your best bet is to seek out a sponsor or a mentor in your office who can vouch for you.Making others aware of your accomplishments is one of the very few areas in which a recent Catalyst study showed women could actually help their chances of advancement. So in that sense I agree with Williams entirely. And of course it's lovely to get support from high-level people in your organization. But asking a mentor to 'toot your horn' because you're too shy to do it yourself is ridiculous to me. No one's going to carry your water for you. If you're not comfortable speaking up about your accomplishments, you need to get comfortable with it. Sure, maybe a mentor can help you with your pitch. You might also get encouragement from a coach, a pep talk from a colleague, or a stiff drink.
Women are doing more mentoring
The LinkedIn survey also found that more younger women are being mentored by other women. This seems to be a great step forward for the sisterhood, if you're inclined to see things that way, and that seems to be the way LinkedIn sees it. But a note of caution is in order here: Catalyst has also found that female mentors are less effective than male mentors, because women tend to be less highly-placed in their organizations than men.
- Fifty-one percent of women between 18 and 29 years old said they have or once had a female mentor
- Forty-three percent of women between the ages of 30 and 44 said they have or once had a female mentor
- Only 34 percent of women between the ages of 45 and 66 said they have or once had a female mentor.
RELATED
- Why Mentoring Helps Men More Than Women
- Study Debunks Myths About How To Get Ahead
- Is a Co-Worker Undermining Your Work? Blame the Boss, Study Says
Kimberly Weisul is a freelance writer, editor and editorial consultant. Follow her on twitter at www.twitter.com/weisul.