The effectiveness of mentoring in helping women achieve leadership positions in Irish business

Purpose – Female leadership has different characteristics that can contribute a different vision to organizations, so it is essential to develop these skills within the business. However, women are still poorly represented in senior positions in organisations around the world (Chisholm-Burns, et al., 2017). Separately, mentoring is used as a tool to encourage and develop leadership in companies. The main objective of this study is to determine whether mentoring can be used as an effective tool to develop women leaders in business. Design/methodology/approach: The research is qualitative, with the focus on the personal experiences, perceptions and knowledge of women managers. To understand in depth how mentoring helps female leadership, in-depth interviews were conducted with five senior women managers from different companies in Ireland who had participated in formal and informal mentoring relationships. Limitations: The study has a small sample, and therefore it is not possible to generalize from the findings. The results apply only to the group studied. Originality/value: There is a lack of research on how mentoring can help women achieve senior positions in organizations in Ireland, so this study tries to fill this knowledge gap. Findings: Valuable ideas that emerged from this study: - Mentoring is a form of coaching that allows women mentees to focus their careers on leadership. - Having a mentoring relationship helps improve performance within organizations - A mentor can help improve the self-esteem of female mentees - The outcomes can be positive with a male or female mentor. However, having female mentors who have achieved a balance between family and a senior position inspires female mentees more. - For mentoring to be effective, there must be a great commitment on the part of the mentee. In terms of professional development, the mentor must be in a more senior position than the mentee. However, peer mentoring and network mentoring relationships can also help. - Mentor and mentee must create an environment of trust, but not necessarily friendship. - The effectiveness of mentoring is maintained regardless of whether the relationship is formal or informal or develops inside or outside the organization. These aspects contribute different aspects to the professional development of mentees