In recent years, the numbers have started moving in the wrong direction. Formal mentorship programs for women have fallen from nearly half of organizations in 2022 to just 37% today. Even more troubling, men’s willingness to mentor women has dropped sharply.
At first glance, women’s representation in executive roles tells a more hopeful story, rising from 17% to 29% over the past decade. But that progress hides a persistent truth: the leadership pipeline remains clogged at the entry and mid-career levels. The result is a system where too few women reach the stages where mentorship could make the most transformative difference.
At the current pace, it could take nearly half a century to achieve gender parity in leadership. Yet education, one of the few sectors where women hold significant leadership roles, is well-placed to change that trajectory. Educational institutions understand the long-term value of developmental relationships, the principles of inclusive pedagogy, and the structures needed to cultivate diverse leadership pathways.
Through my work in educational leadership and research, I’ve come to see mentorship as more than a tool for career development, it’s a form of strategic succession planning. When we build strong mentorship cultures in education, we’re not only supporting individual growth; we’re influencing the kind of inclusive, collaborative leadership that research consistently shows leads to better organizational outcomes.
The real issue isn’t whether education should take part in leadership development, it’s whether we will seize this moment to model what meaningful mentorship can look like. Higher education can either design the frameworks others learn from, or continue to let corporate trends dictate the conversation about women’s professional advancement.
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