Mentoring

ONE-TO-ONE MENTORING

  • American Anthropological Society: The society offers one-to-one mentoring (formal or informal) and group mentoring or committee-based mentoring. The society delivers a competitive "leadership fellows" program for postdocs, all but one fellow has been female, and was matched with senior thought leader in field. They also offer a first-come-first-served mentor match based on protege's interests, open to both males and females.
  • American Association for Anatomy (AAA): AAA offers one-to-one mentoring (formal or informal) and group mentoring or committee-based mentoring.
  • American Astronomical Society (AAS): The society offers one-to-one mentoring, group or committee-based mentoring, and a mentoring database.
  • American Chemical Society (ACS): ACS offers one-to-one mentoring (formal or informal) and group mentoring or committee-based mentoring, and a mentoring database. The ACS scholars program directly results in creating mentors to guide students in the chemical sciences. See www.acs.org/scholars. ACS also has the chemists with disabilities, minority affairs, and women chemists committees. In addition to this, the remaining 45 ACS committees may at one time or another take on issues of relevance to women in chemistry and/or minority representation issues. Project SEED is another program (www.acs.org/projectseed) which also has an associated committee, but deals with creating internships for underrepresented high school students. There are programs/committees designed specifically for the purposes of assigning mentors to women postdocs. Incidentally, the ACS scholars program offers a good model, but is currently only for underrepresented/minority students pursuing a degree in the chemical sciences, and not for postdocs.

    ACS also has another mentoring program available for all members, not just women, through ACS Careers (this can be found at www.acs.org/careers). This program offers one-on-one, short-term mentoring/career advice to members from trained ACS career consultants, generally offering information on the preparation of job applications and information on certain types of industries where chemists can work.

  • American Sociological Society (ASA): ASA was a part of a program, funded by the National Science Foundation. Each of the six university principal investigators at different sites, who also acted as mentors, had to provide a plan detailing how often they would meet, any teaching or service responsibilities, ties with other faculty and/or centers and institutes, and goals for productivity and engagement with the rest of the home department. This was available for all the postdocs, not just women ones. ASA ran the selection process in 2010 and 2012 (two year cycles ending in 2012 and 2014, respectively).

  • Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM): APPAM offers one-to-one mentoring that is open to all.
  • Association of Women in Science (AWIS): AWIS offers one-to-one mentoring (formal or informal) and group mentoring or committee-based mentoring. Mentoring is offered through the AWIS chapters. They use an application process for group mentoring. One-to-one mentoring is offered to postdoctoral scholars through our webinars with access to coaching.
  • Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB): FASEB offers one-to-one mentoring (formal or informal) and group mentoring or committee-based mentoring and a mentoring database. The American Physiology Society uses the MentorNet service; The Endocrine Society has its own database; the FASEB MARC program maintains its own database and does individualized matching.
  • Genetics Society of America (GSA): GSA offers one-to-one mentoring (formal or informal) and group mentoring or committee-based mentoring.

  • Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA): The society offers one-to-one mentoring (formal or informal) and group mentoring or committee-based mentoring. They had faculty opt-in, and then the students picked among the faculty. So the society did not match, they did. One of the related groups did organize mentoring programs only for women.

  • National Research Council of the National Academies: The council offers one-to-one mentoring (formal or informal) and group mentoring or committee-based mentoring.

  • Out to Innovate (formerly National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals (NOGLSTP)): Out to Innovate offers one-to-one mentoring and have an affiliated partner-plus program with MentorNet.

  • Sigma Delta Epsilon/Graduate Women in Science (GWIS): Sigma Delta Epsilon offers mentoring between our chapters; new chapters are assigned with more seasoned chapters. As the new chapter matures, then the seasoned chapter backs away from helping new chapter so much.
  • Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB): SSB offer one-to-one mentoring (formal or informal), group mentoring or committee-based mentoring, and a mentoring database. Mentors were assigned through an online service.

MENTORING AT THE ANNUAL MEETING

The Association for Women in Science has numerous resources for women in science. On their website, they have a Leadership and Talent Development section, which features Mentoring and Coaching, Life Transitions, Work Life Satisfaction and Achieving Recognition.

More info

  • American Association of Anatomists (AAA): AAA has a professional development session at its annual meeting that has a mentoring component for students to find mentors they relate to.
  • American Association of University Women (AAUW):

    Every two years, hundreds of women leaders from across the country gather to discover new ways to empower themselves and other women and girls. AAUW's national convention is a unique opportunity to learn new skills, gain insight and inspiration, and connect with other women leaders. It offers sessions on learning how to mentor and opportunities to find mentors, as well as countless engaging opportunities for personal and professional growth, so that women leaders can maximize their impact. Members, as well as fellowships and grants recipients, are welcome to attend.

  • American Astronomical Society (AAS): The society has mentoring sessions at its meeting. They provide contact information of senior women willing to mentor younger women. The society also provides online information and commentary about employment opportunities.
  • American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG): ASHG offers the Trainee Mentor Luncheon, a wonderful opportunity for trainees (graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and clinical fellows) in human genetics to meet and talk informally with senior members of the society about career options, goals, and professional opportunities. The luncheon is held at the beginning of the meeting so that trainees can continue their discussions with these mentors at other times during the course of the meeting. Trainees will network with senior society members whose work is of interest to them, get career advice from senior society members, and meet other trainees with similar career interests.

    Trainee Networking Session: This event, previously part of the ASHG trainee development program and networking session, is being offered as a stand-alone event this year. Trainees will mingle with potential employers and experienced members of the society representing a wide range of careers, both in traditional research and medicine-oriented fields, and in nontraditional fields such as intellectual property law, science policy, and science education. This event will be organized as a standing reception to encourage mingling and networking with as many people as possible.
  • American Society for Nutrition (ASN): ASN offers group or committee based mentoring. There is a speed mentoring event at its annual meeting.
  • Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM): APPAM has a mentoring session at its annual conference.
  • Entomological Society of America (ESA): ESA offers a “women in entomology” breakfast each year as part of the annual meeting. The goal is to encourage networking opportunities, particularly among women in the society, and all interested in supporting this goal are welcome to participate. ESA encourages all established members to find and sponsor one or more students or early professionals by buying their breakfast.
  • International & American Associations for Dental Research (IADR/AADR): The associations offers a meet-a-mentor luncheon at their annual meeting, by topic area. This is open to all student members including postdocs and women. They also offer group mentoring or committee-based mentoring to the mentoring section.
  • Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA): The association recently had about 164 people involved in a mentoring reception at their conference. The survey results were very positive. They will expand this next year. Again, the society will let people pick their mentor, which will allow individuals to select on whatever characteristic is important to them. They also support an interest group that does this only for women.
  • Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS): SACNAS offers mentoring at its conference and this is open to all our constituents. The society also has mentoring through the summer leadership institute that is open to postdocs and others. The strengths and success of our program is the ability to create a community where individuals are welcome and celebrated.

  • Society for Applied Spectroscopy (SAS): Various opportunities are available, particularly at the SciX conference (which hosts the SAS's yearly meeting), for informal networking with potential mentors within the society. A student event as well as a member's social event are hosted each year at this conference and governing and other senior members of the society also play an active role in these events. Similar activities and opportunities for networking are provided at the annual PITTCON conference.
  • Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR): SSWR offers group mentoring or committee-based mentoring though a meet the scientist lunch at annual conference.
  • Society of Nutrition: The society holds speed mentoring at the annual meeting
  • United States Society for Ecological Economics (USSEE): At the 2013 meeting, the first ever women's lunch was held to begin a women's network (although not for formal mentoring, at least not yet), which was followed up in June 2014 with a women's retreat to discuss ways to develop mentoring programs and how the society can support women in academia. So far, these sessions were only open to women.

ONLINE MENTORING

  • American Association of University Women (AAUW): AAUW's fellowships and grants department has created a professional community for alumnae and current recipients through social media and personal connections. Alumnae and current recipients can join our fellowships and grants LinkedIn group, and follow @AAUWFellowships on Twitter for news in AAUW and higher education. 
  • American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA): AMWA offers one-to-one mentoring, group mentoring, committee based mentoring and have a mentoring database. The association assigns mentors based on its website. Many of the regular physicians are willing to have a one-to-one relationship with residents and students.
  • American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE): ASCE offers two programs that postdocs and others may participate - an online eMentoring program (mentors volunteer and may be selected by mentees) and the ExCEEd Teaching workshop to better prepare university level teachers' skills. ASCE also offers one-to-one mentoring, group and a mentoring database. The programs are not specifically aimed only to postdocs.

  • Association of Women in Science (AWIS): AWIS has had at least 10 webinars on the topic of mentoring and have provided face-to-face workshops on the topic of mentoring at least 75 times during the past five years. These webinars and workshops were not necessarily open to only postdocs or women - they also have a book and other material that we utilize and have access to the information provided by the International Mentoring Association.

  • National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals (NOGLSTP): NOGLSTP has an affiliated partner-plus program with MentorNet to provide mentoring to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning students, postdoctoral fellows, and early career professionals. The organization is currently helping MentorNet modify their online program base to better serve the LGBTQA community. They also provide mentors for the Point Foundation scholars and alumni.
  • Society for Applied Spectroscopy (SAS): SAS has a membership database with contact information of members is open and available to all members online. Members may choose to seek out a personal mentor by contacting them independently. Additionally, the Coblentz society, a technical affiliate/section of the SAS, is organizing a formal mentoring program, under the coordination of Anne Lemon.

    There is an SAS-member run online forum established by a society member via a private group called "Women in Spectroscopy" on Linkedin.com. Access to this group is given via a request to become part of the group, and non-SAS members in the field of spectroscopy may also request to join. The forum to date has over a hundred members, and has many active topics of discussion on themes of women in science. Any group member may post in the group (pending moderator approval), and this has been a great resource for discussing general issues and asking for advice and mentoring on particular career issues.

  • Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB): SSB has an online program where mentors are assigned.

  • Society of Toxicology: The society has Mentor Match - an online database in which any member can be either a mentee or mentor or both; Mentor Breakfast at the annual meeting - mentees meet with facilitators for an informational session and then are matched with mentors. This activity is conducted by the women in toxicology SIG; several regional chapters have mentoring activities ranging from informal to formal.