Mentorship For Whom? Relational (vs. Traditional) Mentorship Frames Reduce Social Class Gaps In Mentorship

Authors:

Abstract: Individuals from working-class backgrounds have less access to high-quality mentors compared to individuals from middle- and upper-class backgrounds, which may negatively impact future mentorship behaviors. In this paper, we examine whether social class gaps in mentorship intentions exist and, if so, how these gaps can be reduced. We find correlational evidence that social class gaps do exist: individuals from working-class backgrounds are less likely to intend to mentor than individuals from middle-class backgrounds. Furthermore, in a field study of a mentorship program that serves first-generation, low-income college students and graduates, we find that the program’s mentors emphasized the relational aspects of mentorship (forming a bond/connection) over the traditional aspects (focus on protégé’s achievement and independence). In turn, an experiment revealed that framing mentorship as a relational behavior (vs. traditional) closed social class gaps in mentorship. This intervention may help bolster outcomes for individuals from working-class backgrounds in organizations.

Track: DEI

Keywords: social class, mentorship, inequality, mixed methods