OR SUPPORT TO FACILITATE THE DEVELOPMENT OR SATISFACTION OF A PROTÉGÉ”. Sponsorship, on the other hand, is a concept that has been reported to be critical for career development, even though it is less recognised. According to Hilsabeck, sponsorship entails assisting a protégé with making connections for career advancement. She further describes a sponsor as an individual “with a clout who can advocate for career advancement of protégé by introducing them to others in positions of influence and recommending them for positions or promotion”. Several organisations and even universities have designed and implemented mentorship programs for their employees, which helps close the gap. However, a question I continuously ask myself is, for those who have already travelled the journey, whether smooth or bumpy, what is stopping us from being the mentors and role models we needed when navigating our careers? Do we have to wait for organisations to design these programs for us and those coming after us or is there some time we can collectively do to change the trajectory? My experience has thought me that, because I have travelled a journey, even if it is just a step
ahead, I have a responsibility. I have a responsibility to mentor, guide, and give back to the young women and men coming after me. Experience has thought me that I do not have to figure it all out for me to decide to lift others as I rise. Through our lived unpleasant experiences, we are empowered to empower others. So, what if every professional decides to adopt another young person as their mentee? What if everyone who has a means of survival decides to go back to their communities to give back, give back career guidance to one learner, give back a pair of school shoes or uniform to that one kid who needs it the most? What if those who have gone ahead actually looked back to lift at least one other person as they progress on their journey? I dream of that picture every day because those are the actions that will make our country, our communities, and our societies better than they are today. I urge us to realise the greater purpose we have been called for. This purpose is greater than individuality and self-interest. One life at a time can be changed and all we need to do is assume the roles we are trained for adequately through our lived experiences. Dr Tebogo Mashifana is the Head of Department, Senior Lecturer and Researcher in the Department of Chemical Engineering Technology within the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment at the University of Johannesburg.
The percentage of female graduates in core STEM subjects remains below 30%. It is even getting worse as women progress in their careers. Women working in core STEM occupations have been less than 10% between 2016 and 2019. There is a “harmful and pervasive masculine contest culture in science, forcing women to adopt toxic, traditionally masculine workplace behaviours to fit in”. Young people grow without role models and lack career guidance. Because of these experiences, if they continue in their careers as professionals, they do not live and serve to their full protentional. EFFECTIVE MENTORSHIP HAS BEEN REPORTED BY SEVERAL RESEARCHERS AS THE MOST CRITICAL AND INTEGRAL ASPECT OF PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. PROFESSOR ROBIN HILSABECK, A NEUROPSYCHOLOGIST AT UT HEALTH AUSTIN MULVA CLINIC FOR THE NEUROSCIENCES, HAS DEFINED MENTORSHIP AS “THE PROVISION OF GUIDANCE, KNOWLEDGE,
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