Paper Type
Research-in-Progress Paper
Abstract
Women are still under represented in the IS academic community. Research reveals that a “leaky pipeline” is often a problem for many S.T.E.M. disciplines, though equal numbers of men and women graduate with a Ph.D. in these fields, women are more likely to leave their position before obtaining tenure. One tool found to stem the leaky pipeline is mentoring. By pairing more senior level women with junior counterparts, mentors are able to share their experiences, help guide their mentees through difficult issues on the job, and give them an overall support structure. This research-in-progress focuses on a preliminary evaluation of the Information Systems Women Network (ISWN) mentoring program, which was established to improve IS women’s retention in the field. Preliminary results indicate that the ISWN mentoring program is filling a need, but more remains to be done to fully assess its impact.
Recommended Citation
Loiacono, Eleanor and Xiao, Lu, "Evaluating the Information Systems Women Network (ISWN) Mentoring Program" (2013). AMCIS 2013 Proceedings. 12.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2013/SocialTechnicalIssues/RoundTablePresentations/12
Evaluating the Information Systems Women Network (ISWN) Mentoring Program
Women are still under represented in the IS academic community. Research reveals that a “leaky pipeline” is often a problem for many S.T.E.M. disciplines, though equal numbers of men and women graduate with a Ph.D. in these fields, women are more likely to leave their position before obtaining tenure. One tool found to stem the leaky pipeline is mentoring. By pairing more senior level women with junior counterparts, mentors are able to share their experiences, help guide their mentees through difficult issues on the job, and give them an overall support structure. This research-in-progress focuses on a preliminary evaluation of the Information Systems Women Network (ISWN) mentoring program, which was established to improve IS women’s retention in the field. Preliminary results indicate that the ISWN mentoring program is filling a need, but more remains to be done to fully assess its impact.