Perceptions of selected minority staff in the University of Wisconsin system of the effects of mentorship on their career progression

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether minorities in the University of Wisconsin (UW) System holding category 1 (executive/administrative/ managerial) and category 3 (professional non-faculty) positions perceived mentorship as influential in their career progression, and whether there were statistically significant differences in these perceptions by gender, employment category, or age of the respondents. The survey instrument used in this study was the Minority Perceptions of Mentoring and Career Progression (MPMCP). The surveys were distributed to the population by the Affirmative Action Officers at each of the 13 UW System institutions. Of the 430 surveys distributed, 207 usable surveys were returned and included in the study, resulting in a 48.1 percent return rate. The microcomputer program PC Statistician was used to conduct frequency counts and to analyze the date using chi-square. The analyses showed that male respondents reported mentorship to be influential in their career progression significantly more often than did female respondents. No significant difference was found in the perceived influence of mentorship on career progression by employment category or by age. Post hoc analyses showed that there was no significant difference in the number of mentors by gender reported by male and female respondents who did not perceive mentorship as influential, but a significant difference was found when comparing males and females who perceived mentorship as influential. As a group, the female respondents reported fairly equal numbers of male and female mentors, whereas the male respondents reported a much greater percentage of male mentors. Although the data show that males reported more mentoring experiences than females, had a disproportionally high percentage of male mentors as compared to female mentors, and considered these mentoring relationships to be more influential on their career advancement than females, the reasons for these differences are not known.