Mentoring Relationships for Women in Retailing: Prevalence, Perceived Importance, and Characteristics

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Abstract
This paper describes a study on the prevalence, perceived importance, and characteristics of mentoring relationships for women employed in middle and upper level retail positions in the southwestern region of the United States. Survey questionnaires were mailed to 466 female executives employed by specialty, department, or discount store retailers; 205 (44%) were returned and usable. Results of this study indicated that mentored mid-level executives reported more promotions over a five-year period than nonmentored executives and that upper level executives were more likely to be mentored than mid-level executives. Upper level women experiencing mentoring relationships reported higher levels of job motivation than did their nonmentored counterparts. Study results also revealed that upper level executives were more likely to have been mentored by someone of the male gender than were the mid-level participants and were more likely to have been mentored by an older individual. The similarity in the relationship characteristics for middle and upper level executives suggests that upper level executives who had been mentored were serving this function for other females in the organization. The findings indicate that mentoring relationships can be an important force in the career development of women in retailing.