GENDER, MENTORING, AND CAREER SUCCESS: THE IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
and requests for reprints should be addressed to Aarti Ramaswami, N205, Department of Management, ESSEC Business School, Avenue Bernard Hirsch—BP 50105, Cergy-Pontoise, France 95021; [email protected]
We acknowledge the thoughtful contributions made by the editor, Dr. Lillian Eby, and two anonymous reviewers in the development of this manuscript.
A previous version of the paper was presented at the 2008 Academy of Management Meeting, Anaheim, California.
Abstract
This study examines the moderating effects of protégé sex and organizational context on relationships between senior-male mentors and objective and subjective career outcomes among midcareer managers and professionals. Extending signaling theory, and using a 3-way interaction, we found that associations between senior-male mentoring, cash compensation, and career progress satisfaction were greatest among women working in male-gendered industries. By contextualizing the protégé sex-by-mentoring interaction and by considering key mentor attributes, the results of this study provide important insights into where, why, and for whom access to a senior-male mentor is related to career success and contribute to building more complete models of the career attainment process.
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