Making STEM a better place for women

[Katie_UPS]

Originally Posted by popnbrown

The few female mentors I've worked side-by-side with have been some of the best, but they are very hard to find. Not just technical mentors, but mentors in general. I also have a general problem recruiting mentors, but I'd be interested in hearing any advice for recruiting female mentors.

One quick tip for recruiting female mentors: Don't recruit female mentors, recruit mentors.

"We want you to mentor our team because we want a lady mentor/positive female role model" is way less inviting than "We want you to mentor our team because of your X, Y, and Z skills." The former makes me valuable only because of my gender (something I have no control over) and the latter makes me valuable for the set of skills and knowledge I have worked to acquire and improve upon.

I'm not saying you can't ask women to be mentors or recruit them more heavily. I am saying that you should find value in your female mentors beyond their gender.