It is clear that having a mentor is advantageous for anyone wanting to move up, and especially for women.

Research has shown that a mentor helps protégés gain career outcomes such as: higher compensation and faster salary growth, greater job and career satisfaction and organizational commitment, and higher expectations for advancement. Mentors do this by providing coaching, challenging assignments, sponsorship, and exposure and visibility. In addition, mentors can provide psychosocial support by serving as role models and providing counseling, acceptance and friendship.

Yet despite all of the mentoring that many women have received, they still have not moved up into positions as high as men have. One reason, according to a 2010 Harvard Business Review article by researchers Herminia Ibarra, Nancy Carter and Christine Silva is that women are often mentored by less senior leaders who may not be able to provide the sponsorship that women need to move up...

To read the full article by Joyce E. A. Russel, visit The Washington Post.