Jane Fowler Griffith University Queensland Australia Me School of Human Services and Social Work Organisational psychologist People at work esp healthy workplaces and relationships Mentoring research and practice ID: 778011
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Mentoring in academe: How women and men perceive differently the qualities and characteristics of their mentoring relationships
Jane Fowler, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia
Slide2Me
School of Human Services and Social Work
Organisational psychologist
People at work esp. healthy workplaces and relationshipsMentoring research and practice
Slide3My mentoring research
What is mentoring?
Is having a mentor enough?
What happens in mentoring relationships?What do mentees and mentors see as the benefits?How do players describe their mentoring relationships?Are there gender differences?
Slide4Why is this important?
Mentoring consistently recognised as a beneficial strategy for career development in academe
Many successful academic careers have been facilitated by senior academics who provide assistance, advice, and political insight into the processes of the academy
Assisted with socialisation, orientation, networking, and the establishment of collegial relationshipsSpecific outcomes such as success with grants and publications, productivity, and promotion
Slide5Gender differences
Early research lacked gender considerations
My original sample – 24 participants; 12 pairs
To ensure they had a representative voiceBUT not what that voice was saying!
Slide6Revisited the data
Two ‘new’ views:
Examined gender differences in mentoring for academic staff across the three areas of research, teaching, and service… more mentoring on teaching for women – IJAD in 2017
Searched for the way female and male participants talked about their mentoring partner and the way their mentoring relationship played out – what are the qualities and characteristics?
Slide7Why is gender important?
Both men and women report benefitting from mentoring across the three areas of research, teaching, and service – albeit with some differences
Bailyn
(2003) – the masculine model of the ideal academic remains unquestioned, and it is expected that women who follow this model with ‘a little extra help’ such as mentoring will be as successful as their male colleaguesHowever, research does not indicate what this mentoring should entail, or whether mentoring should be provided differently for men and women
What are the characteristics and qualities that male and female academics experience and value in their mentoring relationships?If there are differences, shouldn’t they be discovered, understood, and acted upon?
Slide8Findings – 1st round
Male and female mentees and mentors reported having very positive and beneficial mentoring relationships
They voiced differently the qualities and characteristics of their relationships
Generally, females focused more on relational aspects such as collaboration, collegiality, and the process of the relationship
Males tended to focus more on position/power, outcomes, and achievementsHowever, there were some differences with particular gender combinations
Slide9Quotes – female/female
I wouldn’t be where I am without her – she invited me on committees, to write with her, to travel with her to a conference (FEEFOR)
I’d like to see her skip some of the struggles I had; if talking through issues and difficulties helps with that, I can’t think of a better way of spending my time (FORFEE)
She reminds me what it was like to be so keen and energetic about working in a university (laughs), I really enjoy talking and working with her (FORFEE)
She doesn’t just give advice about my stuff, but invites me to be part of her stuff; does that make sense? (FEEFOR)I think we’ve become quite a formidable team! (FORFEE)
Slide10Quotes – male/male
I tell him where to publish and have contacted editors I know on his behalf (MORMEE)
He’s moved quickly from lecturer to associate professor and I hope I’ve played some part in that (MORMEE)
He has achieved so much, one of his bookshelves is completely filled with his own publications – books, book chapters, journal articles (MEEMOR)
I have risen up the ladder quite quickly and I put some of that down to his influence (MEEMOR)
Slide11Quotes – cross-sex relationships
She’s really good at talking things through; helps me understand why something might have happened the way it did (MEEFOR)
Her advice has been invaluable – for example, in preparation for my review process (MEEFOR)
We interact well together; he has great potential if he can last the system and if I can help him do that, then so be it (FORMEE)She’ll be a great teacher, I’ve watched her (MORFEE)She’s good on quantitative analysis, so that’s been vey useful (MORFEE)
He interacts really well with the students, I am learning from that (FEEMOR)
Slide1210 years down the track
18 of 24 re-interviewed: 8 males (4 mentees and 4 mentors) and 10 females (5 mentees and 5 mentors)
Interviews explored a multitude of issues around mentoring relationships
Asked many similar questions, to see if and how things had changed over the 10 year periodParticularly wanted to hear whether there were different voices men and women gave to the qualities and characteristics of their mentoring relationships
Specifically asked how they perceived the sex-combination of their relationship had impacted on process and outcomes
Slide13Findings – 2nd round
All reported positive and beneficial relationships – at the time and subsequently
Most were still in contact with their mentor or mentee, although did not consider it was a continuing mentoring relationship
Most still drew on things from their mentoring experience
Interestingly, their ways of talking about their mentoring partner had not changedfemales tended to talk more about the ‘relationship’, i.e., how they interacted with their mentee or mentor and how the relationship played out; they frequently mentioned concepts such as ‘collegiality’, ‘collaboration’, and ‘relationship’ and the process of the relationshipmale mentees and mentors were more likely to talk about the mentor ‘did for’ the mentee, the position and power of their mentoring partner, and to discuss outcomes and achievements
(This is not to say that women did NOT talk about outcomes and achievements)!
Slide14One significant difference
Male mentees of female mentors, on reflection, talked about how they had learned about the ‘value’ of workplace relationships and the importance of ‘connection’ and ‘respect’ in relationships
Probably the most important thing for me was the less tangible outcomes – the way of relating to people (MEEFOR)
If I’m less of a dick than some of my male colleagues, and I hope I am, then I attribute some of that to her (laughs) (MEEFOR)I’ve told two of my male PhD students that they would benefit from finding a female role model (MEEFOR)
Slide15Yet…
When asked whether they thought the sex-combination of their relationship had impacted on processes and outcomes, they responded NO
A common comment was along the lines of ‘In this day and age, I don’t think it would make any difference’
Male mentees with female mentors saw it differently and felt they had benefited from having a female mentor
Slide16Conclusions and considerations
Mentoring is beneficial for mentees and mentors
Male and female mentors may have different things to offer
How might this knowledge be practically applied to relationships and programs?What might be the significance of these findings for developmental relationships between beginning and established academics?How might this information be disseminated to those who are contemplating developing a mentoring relationship?
How might the findings be incorporated into the development of mentoring programs?
Slide17Another 10 years down the track
What would you ask these participants?
Slide18References
Bailyn
, L. (2003). Academic careers and gender equity: Lessons learned from MIT.
Gender, Work and Organization, 10(2), 137-153.Brennan, M. (2000). Mentoring tenured women chemists. Chemical and Engineering News, 78(36), 46-47.
Cho, C.S., Ramanan, R.A., & Feldman, M.D. (2011). Defining the ideal qualities of mentorship: A qualitative analysis of the characteristics of outstanding mentors. The American Journal of Medicine, 124(5), 453-458.Fowler, J.L. (2017). Academics at work: Mentoring in research, teaching, and service. International Journal for Academic Development, 22(4), 319-330. Gardiner, M.,
Tiggermann
, M., Kearns, H., & Marshall, K. (2007). Show me the money! An empirical analysis of mentoring outcomes for women in academia.
Higher Education Research & Development, 26
(4), 425-442.
Smith, J.W., Smith, W.J., & Markham, S.E. (2000). Diversity issues in mentoring academic faculty.
Journal of Career Development
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26
(4), 251-262.
Wunsch, M. (1993). Mentoring probationary women academics: A pilot programme for career development.
Studies in Higher Education
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18
(3), 349-362