Promoting Success Through a Mentoring Program at a Research University in Latin America

• In Event: Gender Policies in Higher Education: Knowledge, Teaching, and Academic Path

Abstract

Higher education institutions increasingly use mentoring programs for faculty development (Kiel, 2019), and mentoring is a commonly recommended approach to tackle gender disparities within the workplace. The top 50 most prestigious universities worldwide have a mentoring program (Times Higher Education ranking, 2022); none are based in Latin America, nor are such programs standard in Latin American universities. Mentoring has been reported as useful to improve teaching and Research skills (Shieh &Cullen, 2019), enhance academic support (Blanco & Qualters, 2020), increased academic productivity (Blanco & Qualters, 2020; Bredella et al., 2021; Cranmer et al., 2018; McRae &Zimmerman, 2019; Sandi & Chubinskaya, 2020), salary increases (Hannover Research in Gupta, 2021) and improve Work-family integration and balance (Bredella el al., 2021) to name a few. The lack of empirical evidence of formal mentoring programs in Latin American universities makes us reflect on the need to understand how institutions support academic development, especially for women who present unique challenges such as unequal opportunities, salary gaps, and work-life balance. This study seeks to understand how a research university in Chile installed a mentoring program for academics and what challenges and opportunities have arisen for mentors and mentees who have participated. It seeks to delve into the particularities women academics face in their careers. Our research methodology is qualitative, with a case study design. A case study involves the study of a case or cases within a real-life, contemporary context or setting (Yin, 2018). Case study research involves in-depth data collection using multiple sources of information and details a case description (Creswell & Poth, 2018). This study sought to understand the participant’s perceptions and experiences within their context. The primary source of data was in-depth interviews conducted with mentors and mentees. Additional information was collected through documentary data. Preliminary findings indicate that, in general, the program is considered helpful as a support for the careers of women academics, especially in the early stages. Mentors are perceived as support for decision-making and opening networks within the same school and the university. The mentoring program began as a pilot in 2017. It is perceived as a formal instance within an organizational structure that promotes collaboration and academic collegiality in a “university of excellence.” Although the participants consider that the program is essential to reduce the gaps of inequities that academics face in their career development, they emphasize that the program is helpful for all academics in their early stages since it positively affects socialization both within the school and the university. Some of the challenges of the program that were mentioned were related to the monitoring instances of the program and its constant evaluation. This study invites us to understand the utility of mentoring programs in Latin American and in the global south contexts and the challenges they can present when installing them in organizational cultures where academic mentoring practices still need to be better known.

Authors

• Daniela Véliz Calderón, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

• Liliana Pedraja, Universidad de Tarapaca

• Johana Andrea Fuentes, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile