Abstract
Mentoring is an important human resource development tool for the professional growth of individuals, especially as it relates to identity development (Dobrow and Higgins, 2005; Germain, 2011). However, marginalized individuals (such as women and racially minoritized individuals) receive inconsistent mentoring support (career and psycho-social support) as compared to their white/male colleagues due to power inequalities between diverse mentees and their mentors (McGuire, 1999; Ragins, 2007). The purpose of the current chapter is to utilize feminist mentoring as a theoretical lens to present, analyze, and interpret narratives of the authors. The first author is an Asian-American woman Ph.D. candidate with an immigrant background, while the second author is a gay White male tenured professor from a conservative background. Specifically, we use components of narrative inquiry research methodology (Clandinin & Rosiek, 2007) to analyze our own experiences with mentorship as people who identify with marginalized groups. The authors based their narratives on questions adapted from (Shuck et al., 2016) exploration of issues of privilege and power in employee engagement to sense-make on the role of privilege and power in their developmental relationships.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Benishek, L. A., Bieschke, K. J., Park, J., & Slattery, S. M. (2004). A multicultural feminist model of mentoring. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development,32, 428–442.
Bergelson, M. (2014). Develo** tomorrow’s leaders: Innovative approaches to mentorship. People and Strategy,37(2), 18–22.
Biancaniello, S., Cucunato, S., & Biancaniello, S. (2010). Learning conversations: How oral inquiry supports the five steps of action research. In R. P. Pelton (Ed), Making classroom inquiry work: Techniques for effective action research (pp. 117–140). Rowan & Littlefield.
Bilimoria, D., Joy, S., & Liang, X. (2008). Breaking barriers and creating inclusiveness: Lessons of organizational transformation to advance women faculty in academic science and engineering. Human Resource Management,47(3), 423–441. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.20225
Blackburn, R. T., Chapman, D. W., & Cameron, S. M. (1981). “Cloning” in academe: Mentorship and academic careers. Research in Higher Education,15(4), 315–327.
Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J. (1990). Reproduction in education, society, and culture. Sage.
Boyatzis, R. E. (1998). Transforming qualitative information: Thematic analysis and code development. Sage.
Byrd, M. Y. (2009). Telling our stories of leadership: If we don’t tell them they won’t be told. Advances in Develo** Human Resources, 11(5), 582–605. https://doi.org/10.1177/1523422309351514
Byrd, T. (2016). Experiences of intersectionality: A phenomenological exploration of how black American women leaders respond to stigmatization in the workplace. Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global (10196490).
Chanland, D., & Murphy, W. (2018). Propelling diverse leaders to the top: A developmental network approach. Human ResourceManagement, 57(3), 111–126. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21842
Chesler, N. C., & Chesler, M. A. (2002). Gender-informed mentoring strategies for women engineering scholars: On establishing a caring community. Journal of Engineering Education,91(1), 49–55. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2002.tb00672.x
Chesney-Lind, M., Okamoto, S., & Irwin, K. (2006). Thoughts on feminist mentoring: Experiences of faculty members from two generations in the academy. Critical Criminology,14, 1–21.
Chin, J. L. (2013). Diversity leadership: Influence of ethnicity, gender, and minority status. Open Journal of Leadership, 2(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojl.2013.21001
Clandinin, D. J., & Rosiek, J. (2007). Map** a landscape of narrative inquiry: Borderland spaces and tensions. In D. J. Clandinin (Ed.), Handbook of narrative inquiry: Map** a methodology (pp. 35–75). Sage.
Cullen, D. L., & Luna, G. (1993). Women mentoring in academe: Addressing the gender gap in higher education. Gender and Education,5(2), 125–137. https://doi.org/10.1080/0954025930050201
Davis, D. R. (2012). A phenomenological study on the leadership development of African American women executive in academics and business. University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Dissertation.
Davis, T. J., Greer, T. W., Sisco, S., & Collins, J. C. (2020). “Reclaiming my time” amid organizational change: A dialectical approach to support the thriving and career development for faculty at the Margins. Advances in Develo** Human Resources,22(1), 23–40.
Davis, D. R., & Maldonado, C. (2015). Shattering the glass ceiling: The leadership development of African American women in higher education. Advancing Women in Leadership,35, 48–64.
Dobrow, S. R., & Higgins, M. C. (2005). Developmental networks and professional identity: A longitudinal study. Career Development International,10(6/7), 567–583. https://doi.org/10.1108/13620430510620629
Dreher, G. F., & Ash, R. A. (1990). A comparative study among men and women in managerial, professional, and technical positions. Journal of Applied Psychology,75(5), 1–8.
Eagly, A. H., &, Karau, S.J. (2002). Role Congruity Theory of prejudice toward female leaders. Psychological Review,109(3), 573–598.
Ehrich, L. C., Hansford, B., & Tennent, L. (2004). Formal mentoring programs in education and other professions: A review of the literature. Educational Administration Quarterly,40(4), 518–540.
Ensher, E. A., Grant‐Vallone, E. J., & Marelich, W. D. (2002). Effects of perceived attitudinal and demographic similarity on protégés’ support and satisfaction gained from their mentoring relationships. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32(7), 1407–1430. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2002.tb01444.x
Fassinger, R. (1997). Dangerous Liaisons: Reflections on feminist mentoring. Paper presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association.
Freire, P. (2002). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum International Publishing.
Gasser, C. E., & Shaffer, K. S. (2014). Career development of women in academia: Traversing the leaky pipeline. The Professional Counselor,4(4), 332–352. https://doi.org/10.15241/ceg.4.4.332
Germain, M. (2011). Formal mentoring relationships and attachment theory: Implications for human resource development.Human Resource Development Review, 10(2), 123–150. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534484310397019
Ghosh, R. (2018). Diversified mentoring relationships: Contested space for mutual learning? Human Resource Development International,21(3), 159–162. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2018.1465670
Hall, J. M. (1999). Marginalization revisited: Critical, postmodern, and liberation perspectives. Advances in Nursing Science,22(2), 88–102.
Hall, J. M., Stevens, P. E., & Meleis, A. I. (1994). Marginalization: A guiding concept for valuing diversity in nursing knowledge development. ANS. Advances in Nursing Science,16(4), 23–41.
Hall, L. A., & Burns, L. D. (2009). Identity development and mentoring in doctoral education. Harvard Education Review,79(1), 49–70.
Heinrich, K. T. (1995). Doctoral advisement relationships between women: On a friendship and betrayal. Journal of Higher Education,66(4), 447–469.
Higgins, M. C., & Kram, K. E. (2005). Reconceptualizing mentoring at work: A developmental network perspective. Academy of Management Review,26(2), 264–288.
hooks, b. (1984). Feminist theory: From margin to center. South End Press.
Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D., & Judge, T. A. (2008). A quantitative review of mentoring research: Test of a model. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 72, 269–283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2007.09.006
Karelaia, N., & Guillén, L. (2014). Me, a woman and a leader: Positive social identity and identity conflict. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes,125(2), 204–219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2014.08.002
Kendall, L. (2014). The conduct of qualitative interviews: Research questions, methodological issues, and researching online. In Handbook of research on new literacies (pp. 151–168). Routledge.
Kram, K. (1985). Mentoring at work (1st ed.). University Press of America.
Marbley, A. F., Wong, A., Santos-Hatchett, S. L., Pratt, C., & Jaddo, L. (2011). Women faculty of color: Voices, gender, and the expression of our multiple identities within academia. Advancing Women in Leadership,31, 166–174.
Mayuzumi, K. (2015). Navigating Orientalism: Asian women faculty in the Canadian academy. Race Ethnicity and Education,18(2), 277–296.
McGee, E. O. (2016). Devalued black and Latino racial identities: A by-product of STEM college culture? American Educational Research Journal,53(6), 1626–1662. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831216676572
McGuire, G. M. (1999). Do race and sex affect employees’ access to and help from mentors? Insights from the study of a large corporation. In A. J. Murrell, F. J. Crosby, & R. J. Ely (Eds.), Mentoring dilemmas: Developmental relationships within multicultural organizations (pp. 105–120). Lawrence Erlbaum.
Moss, P., Debres, K., Cravey, A., Hyndman, J., Hirschboeck, K., & Masucci, M. (1999). Toward mentoring as Feminist Praxis: Strategies for ourselves and others. Journal of Geography in Higher Education,23, 413–427.
Murrell, A. J., Blake-Beard, S., Porter Jr., D. M., & Perkins-Williamson, A. P. (2008). Interorganizational formal mentoring:Breaking the concrete ceiling sometimes requires support from the outside. Human Resource Management, 47(2), 275–294.https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.20212
Murrell, A. J., & James, E. H. (2002). Gender and diversity in organizations: Past, present, and future directions. Sex Roles,45(5/6), 243–257. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014393312588
Ragins, B. R. (2007). Diversity and workplace mentoring relationships: A review and positive social capital approach. The Blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach (pp. 281–300).
Ragins, B. R. (2012). Understanding diversified mentoring relationships: Definitions, challenges and strategies. In Mentoring and diversity (pp. 35–65). Routledge.
Ruff, J. (2013). Sisters of the heart along the way: The power of the female mentoring relationship. Women and Therapy,36, 86–99.
Sanchez-Hucles, J., & Davis, D. D. (2010). Women and women of color in leadership. American Psychologist,65(3), 171–181. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017459
Shuck, B., Collins, J. C., Rocco, T. S., & Diaz, R. (2016). Deconstructing the privilege and power of employee engagement: Issues of inequality for management and human resource development. Human Resource Development Review,15(2), 208–229.
Tran, N. A. (2014). The role of mentoring in the success of women leaders of color in higher education. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning,22(4), 302–315. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611267.2014.945740
Turner, C. S. V. (2002). Women of color in academe: Living with multiple marginality. The Journal of Higher Education,73(1), 74–93. https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.2002.0013
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Manongsong, A.M., Collins, J.C. (2022). Using Feminist Mentoring to Deconstruct Privilege and Power in Developmental Relationships: A Narrative Inquiry. In: Ghosh, R., Hutchins, H.M. (eds) HRD Perspectives on Developmental Relationships. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85033-3_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85033-3_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-85032-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-85033-3
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)