A new study has indicated that women are facing a reduction in workplace mentoring opportunities…and the negative impact on the career development and advancement this entails may be a result of the #MeToo movement.
The study co-authored, by RMIT University’s Professor Andrew R. Timming alongside Professors Michael T. French and Karoline Mortensen at the University of Miami, reveals that women may be missing out on valuable mentoring due to fears among male managers of potential misconduct allegations.
“Workplace relations between males and females have changed over the past two years. Male managers are significantly less likely than female managers to mentor or interact one-on-one with female employees,” Professor Timming said. “We found that male managers were less likely to work one-on-one in an office with the door closed and less likely to have a late-night dinner with female employees.”
The study suggests these fears are unfounded, with the majority of female employees saying that they are willing to be mentored by an older male co-worker, many of whom hold senior positions.
While the more than 2000 participants who completed the surveys are from the United States, Professor Timming said that the findings were highly relevant in Australia and other similar countries that have experienced their own #MeToo movements.
“Aside from cultural similarities between the US and Australia, both countries have recently experienced allegations of rape and sexual misconduct,” Professor Timming said. “This research is critical for everyone in the workplace, male and female alike, across Australia. We need to ensure that women don’t miss out on workplace mentoring opportunities because males fear misconduct allegations.”
The survey noted that 38 per cent of females under 35 years of age reported that their interactions with males were very to somewhat different today than they were one to two years ago prior to the #MeToo movement. Only 11 per cent of female participants overall reported an unwillingness to be mentored by an older male co-worker. The study consisted of two surveys – one sent to female employees, and the other to managers of both genders.
“Women are clearly still willing to be mentored by older males, but opportunities for such mentoring may not be as forthcoming – as seen in our second survey,” Professor Timming said. “Although we can’t say with absolute certainty whether the #MeToo movement caused this reluctance, it seems reasonable to conclude that it may have played a role.”
