Most women who augment their studies with MentorNet's One-on-One programs say their mentoring relationship strengthens their desire to pursue a job in their chosen field and gives them confidence that they will succeed—in the classroom and beyond, MentorNet has found.
"Actually meeting a woman who has a physics Ph.D. and is still working in the field has been extremely valuable," writes one student of her experience. "Previously, it seemed like no such women existed."
MentorNet has been addressing the issues facing women in engineering and science since 1998. Through its email-based, structured mentoring programs, MentorNet has matched nearly 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students with knowledgeable professionals from top companies across the United States; this year, there are more than 1,300 mentor-student pairings. (Since August 2003, tenured faculty have served as mentors as well; see "Study Shows Too Few Women on Science and Engineering Faculties" for details.)
Students at participating universities can sign up for the program online anytime during the year. They may choose a mentor from up to five candidates who most closely match their profile and preferences, or MentorNet can make the match for them.
The mentor and student (or protégé, in program terminology) correspond via email over an eight-month period, covering issues raised by the student as well as those proposed by MentorNet's structured discussion offerings. Typically, they exchange messages two or three times a month and spend from five to thirty minutes a week on their correspondence. Students and mentors can also take advantage of online discussion forums, online resources, and a résumé database.
Mentorships Lend Crucial Support
Perhaps one of the most important findings of MentorNet's 2002–2003 program evaluation is that e-mentoring support and encouragement is the most highly valued aspect of the program. More than half of the students reported that e-montor support made them more confident they could succeed in their chosen field, and 62 percent said it made the feel, "Yes, I can do this."
"It is important that the evaluations show that mentoring increases confidence, because that's where research shows a persistent gap between men and women," says Carol Muller, MentorNet's founder and CEO. "And that increased confidence assists greatly in retention—it helps prevent women from being discouraged and dropping out or moving to another field."
Student anecdotes bear this out: "Professionally I realized I have more options than I thought in my field," writes one protégé. "Academically [my mentor] made me feel as though I could do anything. Personally she helped me understand that the pressure I feel is normal."
E-Mentoring Fills Support, Information Gaps
Additionally, half of the students felt that mentorships fill a gap in their support system—especially among students of color. And most students reported that their mentor gave them information they would be unlikely to find in school, such suggestions for achieving career goals and knowledge about their field, and gave them a more realistic picture of what a job in their field would be like.
Muller points out that mentor-protégé relationships also build bridges between industry and academia, students and working scientists and engineers. For example, roughly 40 percent of students say they are considering future employment at their mentor's workplace.
"This suggests that if companies really are interested in hiring top talent, having their employees serve as mentors allows them to tap those opportunities with beneficial results on all sides," Muller says. "We're trying to help facilitate situations where there are mutual interests between companies and students. Mentoring is a great way to help them find each other and connect."
The MentorNet 2002–2003 evaluation survey was conducted by SJB Research Consulting. To read about the results in more detail, go to: http://www.mentornet.net/documents/about/results/evaluation/.