Rethinking Mentoring

This chapter explores the integration of equity-minded perspectives into mentoring practices within higher education. It emphasizes the transformative power of mentorship in fostering cognitive growth, career aspirations, and sense of belonging among students, faculty, and staff, particularly those with minoritized identities. Despite the potential benefits, there are challenges in achieving equitable access to high-quality mentoring relationships. This chapter examines the disparities in mentorship based on identity, highlighting issues such as homophily and bias, which often limit access and perpetuate inequality. The paper introduces the Equity-Minded Mentorship Model (EM³) , which is proposed as a framework for administrators to enhance mentorship strategies by addressing key questions related to mentorship definition, access, role expectations, and relationship quality. It advocates for systemic changes to support meaningful mentorship, including formalizing expectations, incentivizing participation, and promoting identity awareness. By implementing strategic interventions, administrators can cultivate a culture of mentorship that not only builds individual capacity but also advances equity within higher education institutions, ensuring that mentorship serves as a lever for social change and inclusion.