The significance of mentorship in supporting the career advancement of women in the public sector

Abstract

Historically, patriarchy has manifested itself in the workplace and influenced career opportunities afforded to women in the public sector. The slow progress in the transformation of organisations indicates there is a need for a structural developmental approach for women's career advancement. Mentoring has been recognised as a valuable development strategy and an affirmative action tool that can be used to support and promote women and groups that have been viewed as previously disadvantaged. The aim of the study was to highlight the significance of mentorship as a career advancement mechanism for women in the South African public sector. The study identified dimensions of mentorship (female mentors, career support, mentoring policy and leadership development) and tested the proposed hypotheses to determine whether a statistically significant relationship existed between mentorship and career advancement. A quantitative approach was followed to collect data from a sample of 200 women employed in the public sector in the different provinces of South Africa. Statistical methods used to conduct the data analysis included descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The results indicate that women employees in the public sector view mentorship as an important factor for development; however, the gender of the mentor does not necessarily influence career advancement. Mechanisms to support mentoring have not been established in the public sector, highlighting the urgency for managers in the public sector to ensure that mentorship policies are put in place.

In search of factors that hinder the career advancement of women to senior leadership positions

“…Mentorship is also essential in assisting women in balancing their work and home lives (Heath, 2012). Mcilongo and Strydom (2021) advised that mentorship is a valuable tool to promote the career advancement of previously disadvantaged women in the South African public sector.…”

Challenges to and Enablers of Women's Advancement in Academic Careers at a Selected South African University

“…Gender-empowerment programmes and mentorship workshops for aspiring female academics also provide positive platforms for women's inclusiveness in South African universities (Liani et al, 2020;Sadiq et al, 2019). Low self-esteem, which is a barrier to career decision-making, is addressed in empowerment and mentorship programmes, allowing for self-efficacy to be realised (Mcilongo & Strydom, 2021). Thus, institutional cultures and beliefs about the 'typical nature' of women should be readdressed to enable women to pursue career paths without limitations.…”

“…In the period from 2015 to 2019, female representation increased slightly, from 46.5% in 2015 to 48.2% in 2019. This increase in female representation is acknowledged, however, there is still a significant gender discrepancy in South African universities given that women dominate the labour participation population in South Africa (Mcilongo & Strydom, 2021). Figure 1 The reasons for this continuing disparity between the headcount of male and female permanent academic staff have been argued by different scholars, where some schools of thought see limiting women from advancing their careers as a cultural limitation (Avolio et al, 2020;Staniland et al, 2019).…”

Mentoring Experience for Career Advancement: The perspectives of Black Women Academic Nurse Leaders

“…The literature is replete with papers discussing the value of mentoring in the career development of teachers ( Bressman et al, 2018 ; Hill-Jackson, 2017 ), nurses ( Anderson et al, 2019 ; Wilson et al, 2006 ), higher education ( Arnesson & Albinsson, 2017 ; Mcilongo & Strydom, 2021 ), People of color and Black women leaders ( Beckwith et al, 2016 ; Holder et al, 2015 ; O’Bryant, 2015 ), Women of color in Science, Technology, engineering, and Mathematics ( Alfred et al, 2019 ; Ehlers et al, 2018 ; Main et al, 2020 ) and promoting gender diversity in executive and corporate leadership ( T. N. Allen & Lewis, 2016 ; Johns, 2013 ). Most literature on diversity improvement measures in nursing and nursing programs included mentoring as a major component ( Brooks Carthon et al, 2014 , 2015 ; Cary MP et al, 2020 ; Murray, 2015 ).…”