Mentorship and Women

by Cobina Herrington and Lisa Harney

PROGRAMME DE MENTORS POUR LES FEMMES EN
COLOMBIE-BRITANNIQUE

Un mentor, c'est un guide, un conseiller sage et expérimenté. Le nom vient d'un personnage de l'Odyssée et dans la Grèce ancienne, il s'appliquait aux hommes qui avaient "fait carrière" dans la politique, l'armée, ou dans tout autre domaine professionnel et qui guidaient les jeunes, les aidant à s'intégrer au grand courant de la vie.

Comprenant que pareille structure de soutien serait utile aux femmes, un petit groupe a lancé un projet pilote en Colombie-Britannique, en mai 1985 (le projet est censé se terminer en janvier 1986). Son but: mettre en rapport une jeune femme qui débute dans une carrière et une femme plus âgée, déjà établie dans ce même domaine professionnel. La femme mentor joue à la fois le rôle de conseillère et de modèle. Le projet regroupe 64 participantes, soit 32 équipes de deux. Les métiers en jeu varient: infirmière, thérapeute, pharmacienne et... même aviatrice.

Susan is a 28-year-old mother of two children who receives monthly family benefits to support her family. Susan has had many jobs in the past, most of which provided only a minimal level of income. Realizing that she cannot increase her earning potential without educational upgrading, Susan decided to return to school. A very positive but equally frightening step.

Upon enrolling in a post-secondary institution, Susan was faced with conflicting career interests and a multitude of program options. Although she has completed several aptitude tests and has obtained career information, she lacks the practical "hands on" experience and direct guidance to make a final career choice. Susan is a natural candidate for the British Columbia Mentorship Program.

Mentoring can trace its origins to ancient Greece. These early mentoring relationships, however, existed primarily for and between men, emphasizing support, encouragement and direction to young proteges entering the mainstream of life. The need for a similar alternative support network for women in the work world and the recognition of the importance of professional role models in helping women achieve their career goals, resulted in the establishment of the British Columbia Mentorship Program. Today, more women than ever before are pursuing professional careers, however, there remain very few mentoring opportunities. This program is designed to provide these women with the necessary mentoring opportunities, on a voluntary basis.

Over the last fifteen years, women have experienced significant changes with respect to their family and marital status, education and labour force participation. Women are marrying later in life and having fewer children, more women are seeking post-secondary education and the labour force participation of women has risen dramatically. The social, educational and economic opportunities available to women have increased, but women are still faced with the many pressures and challenges of a modern society.

Although women have entered the labour force at an increasing rate, female employees remain concentrated in a narrow range of occupations. In 1983,77% of working women were employed in clerical, service, sales, teaching and health-related professions. It is important that women have the necessary knowledge and information to enter careers of their choice and make sound career decisions. Mentoring liaisons offer a combination of information and practical guidance to women pursuing professional careers of their choice.

In "Follow the Leader: Let a Mentor Be Your Guide Through the Corporate Maze" (City Women Summer 1983), Wendy Dennis confirms the invaluable role that mentors play in helping women achieve their career goals and states that, "Without mentoring, then, women who might dazzle, lacking top-level role models, often just miss the chance to do so. All of which suggests that, perhaps more than men, at this stage, they need a guide to launch them into a foreign world."

The purpose of the British Columbia Mentorship Program is to encourage women to pursue careers in business and professional occupations of their choice, by drawing upon the experience and expertise of women already established in their fields as role models, advisors and mentors. Women who establish mentoring relationships are better equipped to pursue viable avenues to achieve their career goals, which is the case for the women participating in this program.