Literature Review: Mentoring
Mentoring: Empowering Women as Leaders and Scholars
Some of the major obstacles in empowering women as leaders and scholars include removing the perceptions that women have inherent individual differences that hinder their entry into S&E, and developing a network on which a woman can rely for information and support. Studies have found that mentoring is an invaluable resource that addresses both these issues. Unfortunately, surveys of female faculty indicate that the current network of mentors for women is severely lacking (e.g. Riger et al. 1997; Frestedt, 1995) .
While numerous studies have individual and family differences relating to the entry into and retention of women in S&E, Hanson (2001) found that very few family variables have an impact on the decision to pursue a career in science. Rather the gender disadvantage seems to be that women tend to have less access to mentoring and mentor relationships. Other studies have replicated this finding. A study of self-efficacy in women and minorities found that women did not rely only on skill to succeed in careers in which women are typically under represented. It was found that women instead relied on people with whom they had positive relationships.
Not only do faculty interpret having mentors as invaluable, but research shows that women faculty believe that the success of female students is more tied to aligning themselves with the proper faculty than is due to skill (Fox, 2003) . It has also been found that women are more likely to act as primary advisors to female doctoral students, have more female students on research teams, and see advisors as a mentor, as compared to men (Fox, 2003) .
In effect both having and being a mentor helps to empower women as scholars and leaders.
Reisinger (1999) found that mentoring and a strong support system were key factors in the success of women as scholars. Both mentors and support systems help buffer the stressors for women regarding the changing roles and conflicts with families often associated with entering a non-traditional field like S&E.
Studies detail that mentors empower and promote the scholarship of women in four ways. First, by encouraging involvement in activities such as conferences where female students may find mentors and build networks. Secondly, by helping those being mentored to comprehend the process of progression to end goals. Also, by acting as a source of information for resources needed for help. Finally, by acting as a source for stress relief (Reisinger 1999) .
Mentoring: Increasing the Representation of Women
Mentoring has also been found to be a factor in the persistence of women in S&E. It has been found that mentoring affects the numbers of women in S&E at many different stages in the academic career-path.
Research has shown that higher numbers of women administrators lead to higher numbers of women faculty (Kulis, 1998), underscoring the need for female networks within institutions.
Women report the lack of access to female role models as a major factor in their lack of pursuit of scientific careers in general (Sax, 2001).
It has further been found that the lack of role models and social networks for women is a key reason cited for abandonment of S&E careers after undergraduate studies (Sax, 2001). Furthermore, it has been found that mentoring and encouragement from others is even more predictive of a woman’s persistence in sciences past undergraduate studies than either grades or self-esteem (Rayman & Brett, 1995).
A lack of mentoring, restricted access to informational networks and a lower number of research relationships result in a higher likelihood for women to abandon S&E careers then men (Drew & Work, 1998). This is the case even though studies show that men and women enter engineering programs with statistically identical ability levels (Felder, Felder, Mauney, Hamrin, & Dietz, 1995).
Results further indicate that those graduate students who are consistently identified as successfully advancing through graduate studies in S&E are students with access to strong mentor networks (Hollenshead, et al., 1994).
Thus, by increasing access to mentors and social networks for women, many women who would otherwise leave the S&E fields, may persist. Several interventions have been successful in increasing retention by developing mentor relationships (See Daniels, 1995). Interventions aimed at increasing mentor access and the development of social networks for women are discussed here.
Mentoring: Advancing women into faculty careers
Research has shown that many situations that ultimately led to women leaving academic careers before gaining tenure can be traced back to a lack of both formal and informal mentoring among colleagues (Bronstien, Rothblum, & Solomon, 1993).
Also, the lack of mentors tends to result in women being perceived as less capable, and not possessing exceptional characteristics of other junior faculty (Boice, 1992). This is in part due to the lack of guidance and ‘insider’s knowledge’ of social norms in the department that a mentor would provide. In fact, the socialization of women into any department is seriously hampered by the overall lack of available mentors Bronstien et al., 1993).
Lack of mentors further hinders the already stressful tenure process because women faculty have nowhere to turn when faced with ambiguous tenure policies, such as relative importance of research dimensions (Tierney & Bensimon, 1996).