This document summarizes the key lessons from AWARD's mentoring program for building cultures of inclusion. It finds that commitment from both mentors and fellows is crucial for success. Geographic proximity, while not essential, significantly enhances the mentoring relationship when face-to-face meetings can occur regularly. Personality fit is less important than moderating influences like commitment. Shared research interests are valuable but not required. The mentoring program provides significant benefits to fellows' careers, networks, and motivation, as well as developing mentors' skills and reputation. It contributes to empowering more women in agricultural research and development sectors.
13. Expression of gains in power (compelling/convincing impact
stories)
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Power from Within
Power to Do
Power OverPower With
Power to Empower
Phase I Phase II
2012-
2016
2008-
2011
17. FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO SUCCESS
Commitment
Shared
Research
Interests
Personality
Geographic
Proximity
18. A fundamental ingredient
Commitment seen as crucial by fellows and mentors
Bi-directional commitment needed
Commitment
2% 2% 2%
10%
86%
0% 0% 2%
4%
87%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Major negative Minor negative Neutral or no factor Minor positive Major positive
Fellows Mentors
19. Geographic Proximity
Face-to-face interaction remains pivotal despite technology
Informal, frequent contact offers “the next level” of benefit
Strongly argued for, not critical
7%
15% 15%
43%
21%
4%
18%
8%
52%
17%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Major negative Minor negative Neutral or no factor Minor positive Major positive
Fellows Mentors
23. Shared Research
Interests
Viewed almost as critical to
success by fellows
More balanced by the more
experienced mentors
Valuable, but not required
2%
7%
14% 13%
66%
1% 3%
19%
14%
65%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Major negative Minor negative Neutral or no factor Minor positive Major positive
Fellows Mentors
25. “NEUTRAL” FACTORS
Socio-cultural Background
Presented the least barriers - particularly “neutrally” viewed
Important exceptions need to be considered
3% 3%
55%
10%
31%
0% 1%
58%
16%
25%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Major negative Minor negative Neutral or no factor Minor positive Major positive
Fellows Mentors
26. FACTORS INFLUENCING MENTORSHIP
Socio-cultural Gender
1%
6%
35%
12%
48%
0% 1%
44%
17%
39%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Major negative Minor negative Neutral or no
factor
Minor positive Major positive
Fellows Mentors
28. Benefit of Mentoring to Fellows
IMPORTANCE FOR CAREER
Mentorship relationship rated to be of significant importance
FELLOW FOCUS & MOTIVATION REACHING CAREER GOALS
Considerably or
very beneficial
ACCESS TO NETWORKS
ACCESS TO COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES
Lowest rated benefit of the mentorship relationship
90%
93%
ACCESS TO GUIDANCE
94% Considerably or
very beneficial
Considerably or
very beneficial
90%
Most beneficial to
pB fellows 80%
29. Development of Mentors
DEVELOPMENT OF MENTORING
SKILLS
CONFIDENCE AS MENTOR
<10% very confident BEFORE
> 70% AFTER
Mentoring Orientation Workshop
Negotiation Skills Workshops
PROFESSIONAL REPUTATIONAWARENESS OF GENDER IN ARD
<25% highly skilled BEFORE
95% AFTER
highly reputable as
mentor AFTER
Invitations by others to be
mentored
100%
admitted to a superficial
knowledge of gender issues
prior to the Fellowship
20% very aware BEFORE
70% AFTER
30. Benefits to Mentees
Developing Power from Within (80%)
PRM is a fundamentally important
Fellows serve as role models in their confidence
Developing Power to Do (60%)
Fellows link mentees to networks
Fellows provide guidance and advice
Fellows motivate and support mentees to publish
IMPORTANCE FOR CAREER
Mentorship relationship beneficial to career development
97%
31. Contribution to the ARD Sector
Vast majority of fellows and 55% of mentors not
exposed to formal mentoring prior to engagement with
AWARD
14%
89%
3%
62%
2%
51%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
BEFORE END BEFORE END BEFORE END
Formal mentoring of scientists or
professionals other than mentee
Organised Seminars regarding the
importance of mentoring
Officially initiated/ contributed to the
development of a formal mentoring
activities
Start with AWARD video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kTnZVXgk8M
2008 ASTI/AWARD
Empowerment: An expansion of ‘‘agency,’’
What people are free and able to do and achieve in pursuit of their goals or values
Emphasis on:
An individual’s assets and attributes
(an opportunity structure)
Data sources
Bio data, Fellows’ impact stories, surveys, progress review meetings, etc.
Since 2008, AWARD has, through tailored 2-year fellowships, worked to strengthen the research and leadership skills of African women in agricultural science, empowering them to contribute more effectively to poverty alleviation and food security in sub-Saharan Africa.
The AWARD Fellowship has a well-recognized track record of success and to date, 1158 agricultural scientists (84% female) from over 300 institutions have benefited directly from AWARD’s investments. Specifically, 465 female agricultural scientists from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, have earned an AWARD fellowship. In addition, 5 women from Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Senegal, Mali and Bukina Faso participated in a pilot project aimed at Francophone Africa. An additional 397 scientists have benefited as mentors to AWARD fellows and 366 have benefited as mentees of AWARD fellows
No age limits to apply to an AWARD fellowship
Any agricultural discipline but focus on biophysical sciences
Post graduate fellows placed in research labs around the world for advanced science training. (1-6 month placements) Short courses (2weeks)
partnerships with private and public sector institutions around the world expose African women scientist to cutting edge science skills
Skills in proposal writing, data collection and analysis, presentation skills
Exposure to Gender responsive agricultural research
Jane Ambuko, Senior Lecturer, UoNairibi who won USAID Feed the Future recognition
First woman to earn a PhD in East & Central Africa. Vetenary anatomy
How do you leverage science for transforming society? Leadership
Investing in African institutions by mentoring the next generation of scientists.
Mentoring is a proven and powerful driver for career development and particularly for retaining women in science.
Edidah Lubega Ampaire (1300 results)
Compelling: Impact story gives more than one verifiable and preferably precise example of the change that was brought about (or one overwhelmingly convincing story), and gives a clear indication that AWARD has contributed.
Impact story reflects change in a convincing, although not necessarily inspiring, manner. It gives at least one verifiable example of change.
Impact story is not convincing. It does not give clear, verifiable examples, and/or does not connect change to AWARD’s influence.
Show need to be more intentional in growing Power With & Power To Empower
Full story available online
Work with both women and men (46% of mentors are men)
Partnerships with over 300 institutions around the world that are working with a commitment to gender responsive ag science.
196 fellows (above 90% of 3 cohorts 2012-2016)
116 mentors (>80% of 3 cohorts 2012-2016)
Four factors have emerged as contributing positively to the success of the mentorship relationship. These are commitment, shared research interests/disciplines, geographic proximity and personality.
The first factor, bi-directional commitment consistently emerged as the most critical element in the success of the relationship from the perspective of both the fellows and the mentors.
“We would not have made it if we were not committed. I saw the mentorship as a project, I needed it successfully completed and so got committed to it. I made sure I adjusted my programmes to fit into my mentor's time table to accommodate her busy schedule. She too was always calling to find out topics and date/time for the next meeting. This to a good extent, got us successful in the contract.”
Geographic proximity was strongly argued for. Face-to-face meetings, which happen more frequently when fellows and mentors are within the same geographic vicinity, is important for relationship building – but not critical for an effective mentoring relationship. A combination of f2f and e-mentoring is ideal allowing for regular contact between fellow and mentor without escalating costs and time expended (which are the primary barriers to f2f meetings where the fellow and mentor are not within walking distance of each other. Being within walking distance is ideal – but not too close
In terms of personality – there is no one winning combination – however, the MBTI personality assessments fellows and mentors do at the MOW was frequently mentioned as a mediating factor which helps fellows and mentors to manage their relationship appropriately. Without this element, it is likely that lack of understanding an insight into personality may hinder the success of the relationship.
Fellows that had frequent face to face meetings are 6 times more likely to evaluate the F-M meeting as very/moderately beneficial.
Fellows who have phone calls frequently are 8 times more likely to term the F-M meeting as very/moderately beneficial.
THE SAME CAN BE BLAND
“We were of the same personality in a way and as such there was no adrenalin. “
DIFFERENT IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER
“As I stated before, I had a lot of energy that felt that was not matched with the levels of the mentor. I am extroverted and my mentor introverted.”
DIFFERENT IS GOOD
“My mentee is quiet and cool about a lot of things whilst I’m always on the move and outgoing (ESFP), I always stated things as they were and she appreciated that. There were times I had to pressurize her to do a few things and she excelled in them.”
SIMILARITY CAN LEAD TO SUCCESS
“We happen to belong to the same personality type when we were tested during the mentoring orientation workshop. Then we were advised on how to work in harmony. I understood and practiced what we were taught and we had a major breakthrough.”
The second factor, shared research interests or common disciplinary foundations make a valuable contribution to a successful mentoring relationship – particularly as it relates to providing technical guidance and linking fellows into relevant networks. A shared research interest was more important to fellows than to mentors.
Both of us are food scientists, and it was easy to identify common research goals, and collaborators. It was easy to link her up with a colleague in Louisiana State University when she went there as a Borlaugh fellow.”
Regarding age, both senior and near-peer mentors were viewed positively – senior mentors for their wisdom and experience; near-peer mentors for the potential for peer-to-peer learning.
Two factors – socio-cultural background and age – emerged as relatively neutral in terms of their impact on the success of the relationship.
Socio-cultural background in particular was neutrally viewed presenting the least barriers, however important exceptions are noted – and these relate specifically to the intersection between culture and gender (I will elaborate on this in greater detail shortly).
There does appear to be a distinct benefit of having a female mentor, allowing for open and extended engagements. The freedom to discuss challenges that impact on a fellows’ career which are often unique to women – such as work life balance, family issues and a shared understanding of gender in the workplace is seen as a safe sisterly support network enabling fellows to navigate their challenges. That said, some fellows purposefully selected male mentors to gain insight into their “trade secrets”
As noted on the slide earlier, there is an intersection between gender and socio-cultural norms – which hindered the mentoring in a very limited number of cases.
Similar challenges so we could discuss other challenges including family issues.
This is because being a woman scientist, she clearly understands the issues we go through in our careers and give advice accordingly.
I think from my interaction, it will be better to share experience from fellow women. When I got the chance to meet other fellows and mentors, I have seen the bond and interaction among them. I was not able to have free women like interaction with my male mentor. Thought it helped me to understand the mental set up of men in science.”
Fellows rated the importance of the mentoring relationship to their career progress, and the benefit of the experience on four factors.
Mentoring is seen as considerably or very beneficial for helping fellows maintain focus and motivation, and for reaching their career goals. Mentors also serve as an important source of guidance to fellows, and open up access to networks – particularly in the case of the pB fellows.
Taking into consideration the high numbers of mentors who did not have any mentoring experience prior to AWARD, it is not surprising that less than 25% of mentors rated themselves as highly skilled in this area before the fellowship. This shifted to 95% after the AWARD experiences. Mentorship confidence also increase substantially, although it is slightly less pronounced than the development of skills.
Interestingly, all mentors rated themselves as highly or very highly reputable as a mentor - an assertion that was backed up by more than 25% of mentors who noted that they had received mentorship requests from others in their organisation as a result of being an AWARD mentor.
AWARD also plays a role in shifting awareness among mentors in terms of gender in ARD, from a superficial understanding to a more nuanced one.
Almost all mentees rated the relationship with their fellow (their mentor) as beneficial in some way to their career development. Fellows serve as role models for mentees in their confidence and focus, and the progress Road Map development aids mentees to develop their own focus.
Mentees value the access to guidance and advice from the fellow – a theme which also is reflected in what fellows benefit from their mentors – and are linked into fellow’s networks.
One comment which I believe is worth mentioning, is that based on the hypothesis that mentoring (in principle) is an important way of developing the next-generation of academics – in particular women academics – the contribution of AWARD to the sector can be thought through from the perspective of exposure and skills development.
Almost all fellows, and more than 50% of mentors have never been exposed to formal mentorship programmes, which means that there are more than 1100 individuals in the system who have been exposed to, and skilled in, mentorship approaches that work. These types of paradigm shifts are powerful.
The high proportion of fellows (as displayed on the graph) who have taken up other ADDITIONAL activities during the fellowship period attests to a paradigm shift that has taken place.
The gender responsive component of the programme packs amplifies the potential power of this effect.