In a Forbes article that explores how institutions and organizations can invest in leadership pipelines and mentorship networks that protect and empower Black women, Dean Kimberly Griffin underscores why this work matters: recognizing relational labor, like mentoring, advising and community building, as leadership in its own right is essential to ensuring that Black women’s contributions are visible, valued and rewarded.
Griffin states: "Mentorship is critical but it’s not the balm that heals all wounds. It is important in general for people to have mentorship as relational support...and mentors can serve as sponsors too. They do and they should. Too often, institutions focus on whether someone has a mentor rather than whether there’s good alignment between a mentee’s needs and a mentor’s strengths. Assigning a mentor without intention rarely translates to the wonderful outcomes we want to see. There's an equity-based identity component that we have to attend to."
