Advancing Women Mentoring Program

Offered in partnership with LEAD IUPUI and the Office for Women, the Advancing Women Mentoring Program exists to empower individuals toward academic, personal, and professional success by engaging participants in authentic mentoring partnerships. Students will have the opportunity to be mentored throughout the year by IUPUI faculty and staff and all are encouraged to participate in activities and events offered by the Office for Women. Specifically, the program will highlight topics pertaining to the advancement of women both in the university and the workplace. This program is open to all students, faculty, and staff with an interest in this subject.

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Advancing Women Mentoring Program (IUPUI)

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• One-on-one mentoring throughout the year by IUPUI faculty/staff
• Learn about topics related to the advancement of women on campus and in the workplace
• Develop skills that support your academic and personal success
• Discover the many resources available to you at IUPUI
• Connect with other students
• Gain leadership skills
• Have fun!

Did you know?

• Even though women currently outnumber men in terms of enrollment and completion of baccalaureate degrees, they consistently report disadvantages in their collegiate experience and, specifically, in the outcomes of their education (Buchmann, DiPrete, & McDaniel, 2009; Jacobs, 1996).
• A key influence in a student's degree of success within college is the extent to which they are able to successfully navigate the transition from high school to college or from one college to another. Mentoring can play a key role in aiding that transition (Liang, Tracy, Taylor, & Williams, 2002).
• Men represent the majority of college and university faculty and women's representation among faculty and university administration (Jacobs, 1996).
• Women earn less than men despite having the same level of educational attainment. Often, the earnings gap is the result of gender differences in academic fields of study (Jacobs, 1996).
• According to a five-year survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, it's estimated that among individuals having obtained a baccalaureate degree, women annually earn approximately $19,000 less than men. Amongst individuals having attained a graduate degree, women annually earn an estimated $26,500 less than men (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011).
• In 2010, the median weekly earnings of women who were full-time wage and salary workers were $669, or 81 percent of men's $824. When comparing the median weekly earnings of persons aged 16 to 24, young women earned 95 percent of what young men earned ($422 and $443, respectively) (United States Department of Labor, 2010).
• In 2010 only 2.4% of the U.S. Fortune 500 chief executives were female (Toegel, 2011).

Why We're Offering this Program

The Advancing Women Mentoring Program strives to raise awareness of topics relevant to women in higher education and in workplace environments. These issues in the workplace include:

• Gender pay gap
• Scarcity of women in executive positions
• Lack of developmental job experiences for women employees
• Unconscious gender bias based on cultural norms that lead both men and women to undervalue women's contributions
• Need for more family-friendly work environments to allow employees to meet the demands of career and family responsibilities.

In higher education some of these issues include:

• Lower numbers of women professors who can be available as mentors and role models;
• Lower academic sense of confidence among women students
• Higher levels of self-reported stress and depression among college women
• Balancing the demands of study and parenthood.
• Safety Issues on College Campuses

With knowledge, there must be action. This program also equips participants with information, skills, and resources that promote their personal, professional, and academic success. By equipping individuals, we empower them to achieve breaking through perceived barriers and paving a way for the advancement of women on campus and in the workforce.

To facilitate these objectives, the Advancing Women Mentoring Program utilizes one-on-one mentoring partnerships. Such partnerships can create campus spaces supportive of exploring who one is and who one wants to become. This program is particularly meaningful for students transitioning from high school to college, a change from one college to another, or simply the transition to adulthood.

Mentoring among college-age women has proven positive effects in improving self-esteem, commitment (academic and work-related), relationship-building, and career aspirations (Rayle, Bordes, Zapata, Arrendondo, Rutter, & Howard, 2006).

It is our hope that these mentoring partnerships, based on authentic involvement and intentional engagement result in personal empowerment for both the mentor and the mentee.

For more information on the Advancing Women Mentoring Program, contact Lead IUPUI through the Office of Student Involvement (CE 370), lead@iupui.edu or call (317) 274-3931.

The Advancing Women Mentoring Program is a part of Lead IUPUI. For more great leadership and involvement experiences, check out Lead IUPUI.