Mentoring and Networking as the “Silver Lining” of Being Women Leaders: An Exploratory Study in Top World Forestry Schools
Although there are multiple efforts to increase gender equality in the forest sector, women are still underrepresented in the forest sector workforce, even more so in top leadership of forest sector companies. This underrepresentation is also found in higher education, and many forestry undergraduat...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Trends in Higher Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2813-4346/3/1/10 |
| _version_ | 1827157707218485248 |
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| author | Pipiet Larasatie Taylor Barnett Eric Hansen |
| author_facet | Pipiet Larasatie Taylor Barnett Eric Hansen |
| author_sort | Pipiet Larasatie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although there are multiple efforts to increase gender equality in the forest sector, women are still underrepresented in the forest sector workforce, even more so in top leadership of forest sector companies. This underrepresentation is also found in higher education, and many forestry undergraduate programs still struggle to matriculate and graduate women. A way to attract and retain women is through mentoring and networking. Utilizing interviews, we found that it is quite challenging to find a woman mentor/role model in the forest sector because women are still underrepresented. To find a good mentor, young women are encouraged to be proactive in utilizing different channels, both formal and informal. When it comes to gender, our respondents emphasize the different benefits of having a woman vs. man as a mentor. In a men-dominated field such as the forest sector, women mentors enhance social belonging, confidence, and motivation in relatively alienating environments due to “been there-done that” experiences. Same-gender role models might also protect women from negative stereotypes and show how women can advance despite existing gendered barriers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:13:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-39d6eadf41c3400495bd256757dead9b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2813-4346 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-03-20T23:29:37Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Trends in Higher Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-39d6eadf41c3400495bd256757dead9b2024-08-03T14:34:30ZengMDPI AGTrends in Higher Education2813-43462024-03-013116917910.3390/higheredu3010010Mentoring and Networking as the “Silver Lining” of Being Women Leaders: An Exploratory Study in Top World Forestry SchoolsPipiet Larasatie0Taylor Barnett1Eric Hansen2Arkansas Center for Forest Business, College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Arkansas at Monticello, Monticello, AR 71656, USACollege of Forestry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USACollege of Forestry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USAAlthough there are multiple efforts to increase gender equality in the forest sector, women are still underrepresented in the forest sector workforce, even more so in top leadership of forest sector companies. This underrepresentation is also found in higher education, and many forestry undergraduate programs still struggle to matriculate and graduate women. A way to attract and retain women is through mentoring and networking. Utilizing interviews, we found that it is quite challenging to find a woman mentor/role model in the forest sector because women are still underrepresented. To find a good mentor, young women are encouraged to be proactive in utilizing different channels, both formal and informal. When it comes to gender, our respondents emphasize the different benefits of having a woman vs. man as a mentor. In a men-dominated field such as the forest sector, women mentors enhance social belonging, confidence, and motivation in relatively alienating environments due to “been there-done that” experiences. Same-gender role models might also protect women from negative stereotypes and show how women can advance despite existing gendered barriers.https://www.mdpi.com/2813-4346/3/1/10gender diversitygender equalityleadership diversitydiversity in higher educationwomen leaderscollege leadership |
| spellingShingle | Pipiet Larasatie Taylor Barnett Eric Hansen Mentoring and Networking as the “Silver Lining” of Being Women Leaders: An Exploratory Study in Top World Forestry Schools Trends in Higher Education gender diversity gender equality leadership diversity diversity in higher education women leaders college leadership |
| title | Mentoring and Networking as the “Silver Lining” of Being Women Leaders: An Exploratory Study in Top World Forestry Schools |
| title_full | Mentoring and Networking as the “Silver Lining” of Being Women Leaders: An Exploratory Study in Top World Forestry Schools |
| title_fullStr | Mentoring and Networking as the “Silver Lining” of Being Women Leaders: An Exploratory Study in Top World Forestry Schools |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mentoring and Networking as the “Silver Lining” of Being Women Leaders: An Exploratory Study in Top World Forestry Schools |
| title_short | Mentoring and Networking as the “Silver Lining” of Being Women Leaders: An Exploratory Study in Top World Forestry Schools |
| title_sort | mentoring and networking as the silver lining of being women leaders an exploratory study in top world forestry schools |
| topic | gender diversity gender equality leadership diversity diversity in higher education women leaders college leadership |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2813-4346/3/1/10 |
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