Peer Mentorship: An Underrecognized Tool to Faculty Success

To the Editor:

In March 2020, our cohort of early career women faculty in a Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences gathered for the inaugural meeting of a “Gender Equity Works-in-Progress Group.” Rumblings of pandemic-related closures and cancellations loomed large, and none of us could imagine how our lives would be disrupted. Despite much uncertainty, our group committed to regular (now virtual) meetings. Our initial goal was to collaborate and provide peer mentorship for research that advances gender equity in the scientific workforce. The purpose of this letter is to share our experiences and lessons gleaned, in the hopes that it may facilitate the development of supportive peer mentorship groups for other early career faculty.

Initially, each monthly meeting was structured to facilitate group feedback on one or two ongoing gender equity research projects. Though imbued with energy and enthusiasm, we lacked dedicated funding for these projects, and many of us faced additional challenges during the pandemic. Akin to much of the “invisible” work women in academia assume, we conducted this research in our “free” time. Over time, the scope of our group expanded; beyond research advice, we began to rely heavily on each other for personal and professional support, particularly as the pandemic intensified and “work-life balance” became elusive. Despite increased demands on our time, we continued our meetings because the group had become a much-needed lifeline. As peers “in the thick of it,” we were especially well-positioned to share unique strategies for navigating issues salient to junior women faculty. Hearing about recent experiences and acquiring up-to-date knowledge from our peers was especially helpful given the evolution of policies, procedures, culture, and climate over time. Some of our meeting topics have included managing effort across federally funded grants, logistics about first-time grant submissions, organizing benefits and funding for parental leave, managing junior mentees and research assistants, and facilitating communication about authorship. Our meetings became an optimal setting to tap into this wealth of collective knowledge, especially as the pandemic erased opportunities for casual conversations in the hallway.

This support was also essential at a time when our group of early-to-mid-career women faculty were experiencing significant transitions that would have been difficult at any time, but were extraordinarily challenging in the context of a global pandemic—navigating first-time motherhood, juggling work amidst 84 days without childcare, caring for ill family members, and grieving parental death, among other life events. While some of these experiences are typical for our life stage, the rigors of academia leave little room to process or cope with them. Throughout it all, we have lifted each other. Our group has been awarded two small grants to conduct gender equity research and submitted four manuscripts to advance knowledge of the unique barriers experienced by women in academia. Beyond these indices of scholarly productivity, members of our group transitioned from postdoctoral fellow to faculty and were promoted from assistant to associate professor.

We have come to understand how peer mentorship complements, rather than duplicates, mentorship from senior faculty. Even though each of us has very supportive mentors, there is a hierarchy that inevitably emerges among faculty with different years of experience. Having an open forum to receive support on key issues related to being early career women faculty in academia from other early career women faculty—and be “in community with” each other—has been invaluable. As peers with no evaluative role, it is easier to be vulnerable, candid, objective, and direct. We were not bound by the interpersonal dynamics that can cloud judgment. This has been quite liberating, both in providing and receiving mentoring, particularly around topics such as how to effectively manage relationships and navigate occasional challenges with senior colleagues or mentors.

Group peer mentorship has been a sustaining force that has supported our sense of determination, perseverance, and effective navigation of interpersonal and professional decisions. We encourage other early career faculty in academia to set up peer mentorship groups with the following several suggestions.

Commit to regular meetings (at least once per month) with consistent participation from group members to a) encourage development of a cohesive and collaborative peer cohort, and b) facilitate productivity on group projects. Notwithstanding, flexibility and understanding are needed when participants need to miss meetings for work or personal conflicts.

Aim for a mixture of structured activities (to discuss specific research ideas/projects) and more informal discussions for advice-seeking, support, and other topical needs. This could be accomplished by holding time for unstructured and structured agenda items each meeting or alternating meetings.

Collaboratively determine your organizational structure. Our group organized around our commitment to advancing gender equity. Other groups may find benefit in organizing around other shared values or aspects of identity. We note that peer mentorship may be particularly salient for individuals who engage in (typically undervalued) work to advance equity, are underrepresented, have “invisible” identities, and/or experience systematic inequities to success or advancement in academia. Because senior faculty who share these values or identities often have significant mentoring responsibilities, they may have limited bandwidth for working with new mentees. While peer mentoring does not replace mentoring from senior faculty, it may serve as an essential source of support.

Consider ways to make the group accessible to those with less flexible schedules (e.g., clinical faculty involved in patient care or those with caregiving responsibilities) and schedule meetings based on interested group members’ availability.

Set up quarterly or bi-annual check-ins with senior faculty to get feedback about ongoing research and professional development questions/challenges. It also can be beneficial to invite senior colleagues/mentors to serve as co-authors on group projects.

Peer mentorship has intrinsic and extrinsic benefits. Notably, most institutions do not formally recognize peer mentorship as service or education that “counts” towards career advancement/promotion despite its critical role. As a next step of our group’s work, we will advocate for formal recognition of this work in promotion/merit review. With each other’s support and mentorship, we feel bolstered to take on this challenge.