STEM mentoring for women at higher education institutions

Abstract

Aware that mentoring and coaching have substantial differences, it is possible to design a mentoring program in an organization based on a mentoring/coaching culture that develops a certain approach as a key aspect of how leaders, managers, and collaborators engage and develop their entire team, and engage stakeholders in a way that creates greater performance, productivity and efficiency for individuals, the team and the organization as a whole, and shared value to stakeholders. In this sense, STEM mentoring in a university higher education institution, especially for women, is oriented to strengthen the scientific profile of future STEM leaders in the organization, consolidating a mentor/mentee relationship that combines the professional and personal, which could be based on a limited continuity of instrumental mentoring (only Career/Promotion, limited to a unidirectional relationship without a sense of reciprocity, merely knowledge transfer, only institutional need, less conducive to organizational change or personal growth); or better yet a developmental mentoring (which strengthens and consolidates a Guide/Support, proposes a more open path approach and broader development, the need of the mentee, parallel guidance), the latter mentoring better supporting a bifocal approach, thus generating a mutuality and collaborative partnership that addresses a broader range of issues identified by the mentee. Finally, implementing mentoring within an organization will lead to consolidating a more inclusive culture, developing better communication skills in management, broadening diversity to improve the performance and productivity of employees, and contributing to improving recruitment, retention, and development systems, among others.