ABSTRACT
To ascend the career ladder, one cannot do it alone. Individuals, especially women sport leaders, need networking, mentoring, and sponsoring strategies to achieve career success. This chapter discusses three topics: networking, mentoring, and sponsoring. All three of the concepts are grounded in theory, but the mentoring and sponsoring sections take an applied focus. Social role theory has been used as a framework to examine potential gender differences in networking behaviors. Mentoring relationships may be cultivated formally or informally. Male mentors have been found to be more likely to provide career functions of mentoring, while women mentors were more likely to provide more psychological functions of mentoring. Sponsors put their reputation on the line to open doors of opportunities and raise the visibility of mentees, enhancing their recognition and credibility. In addition, increased salaries and job satisfaction have been the results of a sponsor.
