Phylla Jele | Executive | HR and Transformation | e4 | mail me |
Mentorship is one of the most powerful ways businesses can close the gender gap in business leadership. Despite steady progress in gender representation, women remain underrepresented in senior leadership roles.
While companies may employ more women than before, it is not enough. Senior leaders, in my view, are obligated to offer better support to women in the workforce. One way to do that is through mentoring.
Mentorship empowers female leaders to overcome barriers such as gender bias and navigate career paths more effectively. It is especially valuable when led by female colleagues who are further along in their careers.
The missing catalyst for advancing women’s careers
Mentoring contributes to the professional development of women. It builds confidence and helps guide them through the unique challenges women face in business. As women, we wear many hats. A mentorship can expertly guide someone to make better strategic career decisions and advance more effectively. It can also help balance the bias.
Mentorship within her company will be a priority in 2026. Following a recent engagement survey, it became clear that women need structured guidance and the support of mentoring to build the careers they truly want. We see coaching happen every day, both formally and informally, but that is not the same as having a mentor to guide you. Too often, it is difficult to see the wood from the trees when you are overwhelmed by the pressures you face as a working woman.
Unconscious bias, uneven access to opportunities and the invisible weight of balancing personal and professional responsibilities all make mentorship critical. It is one of the most effective, yet often overlooked, accelerators of female advancement. Mentorship empowers female leaders by providing the confidence and strategic insight needed to overcome these structural challenges.
Mentorship is not a box-ticking exercise
Women often hold back, and some might not be as confident as men. A mentor can have a positive impact in that regard, pushing the mentee to take more chances, be bolder and develop confidence that matches their abilities.
However, mentorship is not a box-ticking exercise. It is a strategic investment in potential. The right mentor helps women navigate the unspoken rules of the workplace. They teach how to negotiate, network and lead with influence.
For many women, mentorship offers something deeply personal. It is often the first time someone with experience says, “You belong here”. That validation builds confidence, which in turn shapes careers. Mentorship empowers female leaders to see their worth and lead with authenticity.
Access to mentors also helps level the playing field that remains uneven. Studies consistently show that men are more likely to be mentored and sponsored by senior leaders. This often happens because those leaders see reflections of themselves in younger men. Such natural affinity bias can unintentionally exclude talented women from informal career-shaping networks.
In contrast, a structured mentorship culture ensures that women have equal access to sponsorship, visibility and advocacy. These are the same factors that help others progress.
Mentorship must not be static
For organisations, the benefits of mentorship extend far beyond gender equity. It builds stronger leaders, improves retention and encourages collaboration across generations. It is also self-reinforcing. When women are mentored into leadership, they often “pay it forward” by becoming mentors themselves. This creates a multiplier effect that strengthens the entire talent pipeline. Here again, mentorship empowers female leaders to influence not just their careers but the culture of their organisations.
Still, mentorship must continue to evolve. It should move beyond informal coffee chats to become a deliberate, measurable part of talent strategy. That means training mentors to understand bias and pairing mentees across departments to encourage diverse perspectives. It also means recognising mentorship as a valuable leadership contribution. In hybrid workplaces, technology can help connect mentors and mentees across geographies, making guidance more accessible than ever.
The goal is not just to help women fit into leadership structures built without them. It is to reshape those structures so that diverse leadership becomes the norm rather than the exception.
When done with intent, mentorship becomes more than advice-giving. It becomes culture-shifting. It builds the confidence, connections and competence that unlock the next generation of female leaders. The question isn’t whether organisations should invest in mentorship. It’s whether they can afford not to.
