EXPONENTIAL TALENT PODCAST
Hosted by Dr. Shreya Sarkar-Barney
Supporting Women in the Workplace: What Men should know
W. Brad Johnson and David Smith
Mentorship experts Dr. David Smith and Dr. Brad Johnson have shown through their extensive research that women can benefit from having men as mentors and allies.
About our episode on Supporting Women in the Workplace:
- What inspired your research on men’s role in supporting women?
- What is the significance of mentoring, in particular, relative to other forms of support such as sponsorship, coaching?
- What is the difference between men mentoring or serving as an ally to women verses women doing the same for other women?
- How does the support relationship change between men and women as women advance in their career? Is there a Goldie Locke zone when it works the best?
- Is it harder for successful women to be mentored by men?
- What were some of the most surprising findings in your study?
- Are there certain types of men who are better suited for mentoring women compared to others?
- For women, what is the advantage of being mentored by men verses women?
- What should women be cautious of when they are mentored by men?
- In the course of research what are some of most inspiring stories uncovered? Similarly, where there any egregious examples?
- Have you mentored women personally? And what has been your experience on who is a good mentee vs not?
You don’t have to look too far within a professional environment to see that there still exists a significant disparity between the opportunities offered to women and those provided to men. Many of those imbalances lay in employee wages, and other differences lay in the accessibility to higher positions. Because women are at the center of this issue, many deem it just that; “a woman’s problem.” However, mentorship experts Dr. David Smith and Dr. Brad Johnson have shown through their extensive research that women can benefit from having men as mentors and allies. David Smith and Brad Johnson are co-authors of the books Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women and Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace. Each of these books serves as a research-based guide on what men can do to be better mentors and allies to women in the Workplace. In our conversation, we also cover the significance of mentoring over other forms of support. They discuss the dynamics of a mentor-mentee relationship, and share insights for women on what to expect as a mentee. Both men and women have something to gain from this podcast. Keep listening for helpful tips on how to be a good mentor, a better ally.
Meet the Speaker From Our Podcast on What Men should know
W. Brad Johnson is Professor of psychology in the Department of Leadership, Ethics and Law at the United States Naval Academy, and a Clinical Faculty Associate in the Graduate School of Education at Johns Hopkins University. A clinical psychologist and former officer in the Navy’s Medical Service Corps, Dr. Johnson served as a psychologist at Bethesda Naval Hospital and the Medical Clinic at Pearl Harbor where he was the division head for psychology. He is a recipient of the Johns Hopkins University Teaching Excellence Award, and has received distinguished mentor awards from the National Institutes of Health and the American Psychological Association. Dr. Johnson is the author of numerous publications including 130 journal articles and book chapters, and 14 books, in the areas of mentoring, cross-gender relationships at work, and counseling. His most recent books include: Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women, The Elements of Mentoring (3rd edition), On Being a Mentor (2nd edition), and in 2020, Good Guys: How Men Can be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace.
David Smith, PhD, is co-author of the forthcoming book, Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace and Associate Professor of Sociology in the College of Leadership and Ethics at the U.S. Naval War College. A former Navy pilot, Dr. Smith led diverse organizations of women and men, culminating in command of a squadron in combat and flew more than 3,000 hours over 30 years including combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a sociologist trained in military sociology and social psychology, he focuses his research in gender, work, and family issues including gender bias in performance evaluations, dual career families, military families, women in the military, and retention of women. He is the co-author of Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women and numerous journal articles and book chapters that focus on gender and the Workplace. Learn more about David at: davidgsmithphd.com
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