ABSTRACT

Business magazines are replete with advice on the importance of having a mentor for one’s career. In fact, research confirms that having a mentor enhances employees’ career development, chances for advancement, earnings, and job satisfaction (Fagensen, 1989; Hunt & Michael, 1983; Whitely, Dougherty, & Dreher, 1991). Are women as likely as men, and are people of color as likely as Whites, to develop mentor relationships? Do the benefits that protégés receive from their mentors depend, in part, upon their race or sex? Do Whites, for example, obtain more help in solving work-related problems, in getting around the corporate bureaucracy, and in securing promotions from their mentors than people of color? Do women receive more psychosocial help from their mentors than men?