In some ways, mentorship has not received the level of attention it deserves vis-à-vis training as well as L&D (learning and development) programmes. Mentorship enhances employee growth by helping people tap into a reservoir of knowledge and experience of managers or leaders higher up the order. Consequently, mentorship is one of the best ways to accelerate employee development.
However, L&D professionals know the importance of mentorship, ranking it above other programmes. To be precise, mentoring programmes benefit both mentors and mentees. Many organisations use mentorship to develop leaders who prioritise organisational goals, including gender equality and inclusivity. It can be particularly useful in guiding young professionals to take up the mantle of gender-responsive leadership.
Benefits of mentorship programmes
Companies with low L&D budgets may be afraid that undertaking a structured mentorship programme won’t be viable for them. That is not true. Given the return on investment of mentorship sessions, the payback from cost savings occurs sooner rather than later. To begin with, the retention rates of both mentees and mentors are substantially higher than other employees. A five-year Gartner study at Sun Microsystems noted that retention rates were 22 per cent higher for mentees and 20 per cent more for mentors participating in mentoring programmes versus those who did not.
A report by HR.com, ‘Mentoring in the Workplace’, found multiple purposes for mentoring, based on what the respondents had to say. Among others, they included developing leadership capability, raising employees’ skill levels and boosting employee engagement. Here, one could safely add: nurturing gender-responsive leadership.
Companies must foster leadership that empowers young professionals, male and female, to speak up in challenging times and address inequalities while working towards cultivating inclusive values. Gender-responsive leadership is especially crucial to highlight the significance of women’s equal participation in the workplace. Without women’s participation, one-half of the workforce talent would remain untapped, leading to an unseen and unquantified loss in productivity and other parameters.
Mentorship programmes can help mentees challenge conventional gender stereotypes, empowering them to accept leadership roles, irrespective of gender. With gender-responsive leadership, firms can implement an equitable agenda in all areas of work wherein women and men of diverse beliefs and backgrounds can participate without fear or favour.
Through mentorship programmes, company leaders can advance the gender equality agenda. Leaders hold the authority and responsibility to initiate and maintain systematic organisational change that supports gender equity objectives both inside the workplace and outside it, through external activities.
Guidelines for gender-responsive leadership
To develop gender-responsive leadership skills, leaders must adhere to certain guidelines. The first is to lead from the front or by example. Philosopher and theologian Albert Schweitzer said there were only three ways to teach a child: “The first is by example, the second is by example and the third is by example.”Incidentally, it is no different with adults, who listen to leaders leading by example.
The second norm is to spell out priorities and targets. Without targets, most people are akin to a train without any destination – going nowhere. Accordingly, the gaps in gender-responsive leadership must be identified. Thereafter, proper policies should be outlined to achieve the strategic priorities with measurable targets to boost gender equality.
The third rider is to manage the staff, resources and activities appropriately. Conducive conditions should be established so the staff can work towards meeting gender-equity priorities and targets. Periodically, the staff could assess whether gender-responsive leadership initiatives are contributing to gender equality in the workplace.
Lastly, the leader and other team members must be held accountable for the results. Without a culture of accountability, gender-equality measures may not work so effectively. Therefore, feedback and follow-up measures are necessary to sustain a culture of accountability.
Shared responsibility and empowering environment
Remember that mentorship comprises a shared responsibility between leadership, HR and L&D teams. Rather than a destination, mentorship represents a continuous journey for mentors and mentees. While mentorship provides business leaders an opportunity to build a lasting impression by moulding talent in the requisite direction, for young professionals it opens up new avenues for career growth.
Undertaken in this manner, mentorship could build a pipeline of gender-responsive leaders who lead from the front. By building mentorship networks, companies can accelerate gender-equality goals, thereby offering structured support and growth development pathways for emerging leaders. It’s no surprise that research indicates 75 per cent of executives believe mentors are behind their success. Further, 90 per cent of employees who have a career mentor claim to be happy at work.
Finally, gender-responsive leadership requires the creation of an inclusive, empowering environment for all professionals, including women. Herein, mentorship programmes can be extremely valuable for women in gaining access to networks and opportunities that would otherwise remain inaccessible to them. When that happens, organisations will be deemed to have developed a truly inclusive, equal-opportunities environment at the workplace.
The author of this article is Sandeep Banerjee, CHRO, Eveready Industries
