Gender and Willingness to Mentor in Organizations

Abstract

We investigated differences in willingness to mentor among men and women in three organizations. When controlling for gender differences in factors relating to decisions to mentor (age, rank, tenure, and mentorship experience), women expressed equivalent intentions to mentor as men, even though they anticipated more drawbacks to becoming a mentor. Additionally, individuals with prior experience in mentoring relationships, either as a protege or as a mentor, reported greater willingness to mentor than individuals lacking mentorship experience.