Let’s examine the role mentoring plays in supporting DEI and why it matters
Why is Diversity, Equity and Inclusion important for companies?
There has been a lot of investigation over into the role of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives over the years, with recent events attracting far more scrutiny. For all that DEI is becoming something of a contentious topic, the numbers have painted a consistent picture.
BCG’s research into the impact of DEI showed that companies with diverse management teams showed a boost in innovation revenue of 19 percentage points beyond that of companies with below average leadership diversity. McKinsey’s findings were that gender-diverse organizations are 15% more likely to outperform their peers, and ethnically diverse companies are 35% more likely to do the same.
In terms of the way in which initiatives have been undertaken, it should be noted that demanding diversity is not the same as initiating inclusion. Inclusion is a bottom-up value- one which needs to be an intrinsic part of company culture. Deloitte touched on this as a sense of ‘belonging’, with their research finding that a sense of belonging can lead to a 56% increase in job performance, a 50% reduction in turnover risk, and a 167% increase in employer net promoter score. Those are some pretty significant statistics.
The intentional creation and support of a company culture which places emphasis on these values can clearly be seen to have a long-term impact on employee experiences. More support for inclusion improves employee satisfaction, which means greater retention of diverse staff, who reinforce the company culture of belonging. In many ways it becomes a positive feedback loop for the organisation, which ultimately reaps the bottom line benefits of performance and profit.
Even so, 2025 has so far been proving a tough year for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Major companies from around the world have been publicly rolling back their initiatives, withdrawing funding, and outright reassigning team members. A large part of this seems to be motivated by the current political climate, at least in the cases of Meta, Google and the like, as the Trump administration makes its stance on diversity abundantly clear. As such, conversations are now turning to consider what the future of DEI might look like as a balance is sought whereby organisations can continue to reap the benefits of these programmes whilst pacifying shareholders.
Why is Mentoring important for companies?
A mentor is someone who draws upon their personal and professional experiences in order to support and advise another person. They work with their mentee towards a chosen goal, guiding them to overcome the challenges faced along the way. The experience has proven beneficial for both parties, with long lasting positive effects reported by those involved in mentoring programmes.
These programmes can be put into place for a variety of reasons, with the paradigm being highly adaptable to suit the goals of the organisation. From skill transfer, to improving cross-sector communication, to identifying and nurturing talent, there are multiple approaches even as the fundamental principles remain consistent.
Mentors regularly relate that their practice has improved their sense of engagement in their work and communities with their new skillsets. From improving active listening and empathetic understanding of another’s circumstances, to best practice for offering effective advice and support, mentor training is known to enhance transferable and soft skills in a way which is easily evidenced. At the same time, being able to share their experiences to positively impact another, inspires a sense of satisfaction and achievement. As a result, many who begin mentoring motivated by wanting to ‘give back’ describe discovering new passion for their work and improved personal wellbeing.
Mentoring has long been a part of business enterprise. According to Forbes, 100% of US Fortune 50, and 96% of US Fortune 100, companies have mentoring programmes. Many of these are geared towards leadership development, with involvement being a recognition of employee talent and potential. Cultivating leaders from within through mentoring is a clear indication of investment into employee futures, offering a chance of real growth and development within an organisation.
Fundamentally, mentoring relationships are a clear indicator of organisational support, which in turn has a significant, positive effect on employees at all levels. This includes internal benefits, such as improved job satisfaction and reciprocal commitment to the company, and external, as development leads to improved promotion prospects.
What do Mentoring and DEI have in common?
Well, mentoring can be a significant part of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion practice, acting as a catalyst for inclusion and therefore a gateway to diversity. Mentoring programmes boosted minority representation at the management level from 9% to 24%. With Forbes also reporting that 87% of people involved in mentoring relationships felt empowered by it, gaining greater confidence and career satisfaction. Clearly then, for any company that is seeking to improve diversity in their workforce, mentoring can be a natural part of that drive.
In truth, mentoring and DEI core values are very similar. Both require an overarching setting of trust and safety, providing a space where someone can be their authentic self. There is an inherent value placed on the life experience of an individual with the implicit recognition that their perspective is important. Frankly, a key strength of mentoring is its ability to connect people with diverse life experiences in order to provide a fresh outlook on situations and pursuit of goals.
On a more action-oriented side, in order to provide appropriate advice and guidance, mentors need to be trained in how to be sensitive to a mentee’s identity, environment, experiences, values and beliefs. Being conscious of context and the influence of culture, without making assumptions or judgements, is something which must always be taken into account. What else does that sound like?
Diversity is strength. Any wall street broker worth their salt would tell you that a diverse portfolio is vital for long term economic resilience. The same can certainly be said for workforces. Take for instance an article by PsyPost which reported that autistic employees were more likely to report bad behaviour, with follow up research into how this neurotype is less influenced by the bystander effect. This means that they are more likely to raise awareness of issues before it hits a crisis point, which in turn promotes a better workplace culture as well as saving time and resources from resolving grievances.
Additionally, the resistance to bystander or group think influences is highly valuable for companies which are looking for ways to expand into new markets, troubleshoot operational issues, identify improvement opportunities and much more. However, being able to best make use of diverse skillsets requires providing support in other areas.
Mentoring can be a valuable part of such provision by providing a way to connect and communicate in a genuinely open and honest setting. Perhaps the mentee has an idea for how to improve a particular aspect of the operations system. They can bring it up with their mentor, discuss their thought process and get a second opinion informed by real experience of whether other suggestions have been made previously and how they fared. The mentee can be supported to refine the idea, form a plan of who to approach and how in order to explore its implementation. The confidence and sense of security which a mentoring relationship provides can be instrumental in diverse employees feeling comfortable enough really explore their potential.
It is only natural then, that mentoring programmes have so often been included as a part of DEI development. What’s more, having diverse mentors in turn encourages more diverse applicants for roles- it is a signal of safety, a clear demonstration of an organisation’s active commitment to encouraging an authentic workplace culture.
So, what does that mean when the wider, global context is pushing back on DEI?
As mentioned, these days there has been a move away from touting DEI policies, but that doesn’t mean these initiatives are gone. To be honest, many companies are highly aware of the positive impact which having a varied workforce has on their bottom line. As such, it might be more accurate to say that there is a shift towards finding alternative provisions which still meet the underlying goals, principles and values of DEI practices. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
What does this mean for organisations moving forwards?
People seem to forget, or underestimate, just how much is counted under DEI. It is race, gender and sexuality. It is also culture, neurodiversity, disability, age, lived experiences… the list is almost literally endless because so is the range of humanity. If anything, our diversity is what we all have in common.
Unfortunately, a study by CW Jobs revealed that of those working in technology and IT, 41% have witnessed age discrimination in the workplace. 32% fear losing their roles due to ageism. With many big tech firms rolling back on DEI policies and support, what could be done to re-engage these workers?
One option: Reverse Mentoring.
Yes, technology evolves quickly, and each new generation of workers has a new skillset. But it is the older employees who have the human experience necessary for longevity of projects. They know how to weather setbacks; they have a wider scope of learning to draw from which fuels more creative problem solving. Both sides are important for achieving companies’ growth goals in a sustainable way.
Reverse mentoring is a powerful tool for rewriting the established narrative. This model of practice sees an exchange of knowledge. Younger employees share their newer skillsets, whilst older employees share their experience. They are equally valuable assets which organisations need to recognise and make use of. If anything, such an approach is less likely to see them needing to call in expensive consultants five years down the line to try and analyse why the company is stalling.
These sorts of programmes allow companies to actually recognise and nurture the talent that is already within their workforce, and in doing so build a relationship of reciprocal support with underlying loyalty. Of those involved in such initiatives, mentees continually credit their involvement with improved career prospects, which mentors report a greater satisfaction in their work. Recognition is a powerful thing for humans- it speaks to respect of current ability and effort, of belief in a person’s ability to become something even more, of trust in handling the responsibility given. It is an acknowledgement of worth, an external validation and investment.
By implementing a mentoring programme, companies make use of their diverse workforce, establishes an equitable exchange of skills, and as such encourages a far more inclusive approach to future projects.
This is just one example, but the point can be made across every industry. Supporting employees to feel included, fostering that sense of ‘belonging’, is going to continue being of paramount importance.
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