Supporting Midcareer Women Faculty in Academic Medicine Through Mentorship and Sponsorship

Abstract

Midcareer women faculty face unique career challenges that may benefit from mentorship and sponsorship, yet such programs focused on the needs of this career phase are scarce in academic medicine. Many midcareer faculty require intentional and individual career planning to choose a path from the broad array of options in academic medicine. Ambiguous promotion criteria, increased workloads because of service or citizenship tasks, and a lack of sponsorship are among the barriers that inhibit midcareer faculty's growth into the high-visibility roles needed for career advancement. In addition, issues faced by women midcareer faculty members may be further exacerbated by barriers such as biases, a disproportionate share of family responsibilities, and inequities in recognition and sponsorship. These barriers contribute to slower career growth and higher attrition among women midcareer faculty and ultimately an underrepresentation of women among senior leadership in academic medicine. Here, we describe how a mentoring program involving individuals (eg, mentors, mentees, and sponsors) and departments/institutions (eg, deans and career development offices) can be used to support midcareer faculty. We also provide recommendations for building a mentoring program with complementary support from sponsors targeted toward the specific needs of women midcareer faculty. A robust midcareer mentoring program can support the career growth and engagement of individual faculty members and as a result improve the diversity of academic medicine's highest ranks.

Sponsorship in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery

“…In addition, they reported enhanced work satisfaction, reduced burnout, and stronger professional networks . Despite the potential benefits of sponsorship, historically marginalized individuals continue to face barriers to receiving effective sponsorship, as outlined later and summarized in Figure 2 …”

“…6,10,14,15 Despite the potential benefits of sponsorship, historically marginalized individuals continue to face barriers to receiving effective sponsorship, as outlined later and summarized in Figure 2. [10][11][12][13][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] Defining the Problem: Rationale for Sponsorship…”

“…Within the context of residency, a similar situation arises after graduation; natural structures that provide sponsorship fade away, thus leaving a void in the mid-career stage. 16,19,35 This situation can be proactively countered with programs for mid-career physicians. Some approaches to incentivizing sponsorship efforts include providing recognition, protected time, or resources for Multiple barriers face sponsees, sponsors, institutions, and organizations when implementing practices and systems to encourage equitable sponsorship.…”

“…Ibarra et al cautioned that once the promotion is obtained, sponsors often declare victory and abandon their sponsee, even though this is the point at which the sponsee may need the most guidance. Within the context of residency, a similar situation arises after graduation; natural structures that provide sponsorship fade away, thus leaving a void in the mid-career stage . This situation can be proactively countered with programs for mid-career physicians.…”

The Power of the Partnership Between Faculty Development and Continuing Professional Development

“…Their “glocal” approach, an expanded global reach while still tending to local development needs of the home institution's faculty members, is directly relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic context. Keating et al 10 present a mentoring program involving individuals (e.g. mentors, mentees, sponsors) and departments/institutions (e.g.…”