Mentorship: The Often Ignored Yet Key Catalyst Indian Women Professionals Require

By: WE Staff

Climbing the corporate ladder is no cakewalk and the journey is even tougher for women. Mentorship has recently emerged as one of the crucial aspects that can help women professionals in building a successful career trajectory. As businesses strive to stay afloat in today’s highly competitive business climate, the route of mentorship can also be beneficial for business growth.

Mentorship or guidance is a professional way of implementing knowledge, skills, and experience in a person for their overall growth. Women can expand their professional networks and gain the knowledge which is required for effective work and growth in their professional lives. A mentor or guide provides their mentor a chance to socialize with other professionals whom they might not have access.

How Mentorship can Aid Women’s Professions

Women often feel isolated because they fall into the minority at several workplaces. Connecting with other women leaders is a high source of empowerment for the upcoming women entrepreneurs and leaders. The ability to network or channel with people who might be able to help the mentally Advance in their careers as well as increase their workplace visibility are both equally important components of career progression.

Receiving proper guidance and mentorship in any women's life is a fruitful aspect to grow their career. It helps to build confidence in any woman to break the societal norms and stereotypes to overcome several other challenges which bound them to a specific area. Mentorship encourages, helping them recognize their strengths, and challenging self-limiting gaps.

The Numbers Support the Hypothesis

According to research, everyone needs mentorship at some point in their career, whether it be formal or informal. Without having the right mentors, it can be difficult for Women in particular to overcome the mid-career crisis and also to resume their leadership positions. In a recent study titled "Comparing barriers and enablers of women's health leadership in India with East Africa and North America," which was published in the Lancet in June 2023, the authors have found that team building, access to professional networks, mentorship, and an empathy-based leadership all together have helped women in achieving leadership positions specifically in the health industry.

Due to the male-dominated sectors in the industry, women are significantly underrepresented at senior levels of leadership but are typically well-represented in junior positions. The study also mentions that women hold roughly 75 per cent of positions all over the globe in the healthcare industry, however when it comes to India, the percentage is 80 per cent but they are a large gap in senior leadership and decision-making positions.

Community workers and nurses make up the majority of women in Indian healthcare. From the low and middle-income countries, women hold 1 per cent and 8 per cent of the total board seats, whereas from the Global North women hold up to 31 per cent. Women from low-income countries are less likely to have access to executive positions even if they reach senior positions.

The Lack of Female Mentors

Female mentors and guides are in scarcity due to sexual harassment, and conscious and unconscious biases against women in terms of promotions, and also become a huge hindrance in terms of salary and promotions, this is majorly faced in India and several other countries. The survey shows that when compared to women of East Africa and North America, caste and social norms like early marriage, and ageism in India have a more dynamic negative impact on women's careers.

The primary focus of the study was leadership in the healthcare industry, the authors also stated that "Research in the Indian IT industry found that personal factors such as self-confidence, ambition, and, perceived competency were enablers for women's gaining leadership positions. Women in India were found to be pressurized by their families to get married rather than pursue their dream careers. They need to deal with caste stereotypes and also have a general lack of networking opportunities.

Aspiring women leaders must be aware of the genre of leaders they want to become before looking for a perfect mentor to guide them. The women were questioned during the survey about the characteristics of leaders they admired. The majority of them valued those leaders who were compassionate and genuine about their teams. Those leaders were highly appreciated by the women who have a clear vision of their objectives.