Men ‘too scared’ to mentor young women after #MeToo must lean in

I think every young, working woman would agree the #MeToo campaign was wildly overdue. As a former television news reporter in a capital city with a dozen #MeToo moments of my own, I fully endorse predators being exposed.

When I consider all my major career moves, they were each made possible by a handful of men whose ongoing support, mentorship and sponsorship created real and lasting opportunity for me. These guys have been candid in their counsel, consistently respectful and relentlessly encouraging in their belief of me.

At times of deep fear in taking a non-traditional career path, they’ve made me feel like I could take the gamble and have it pay off. Mentoring matters.

Unfortunately, there is data and anecdotal information to indicate #MeToo has brought unintentional side effects that may hinder the progress of working women, and, as someone travelling the country helping young women communicate with authority to boost their chances at promotion, this is worrying to see. The majority of senior management roles in Australia are still occupied by men, it cannot be left to the smaller number of female senior leaders to mentor all younger women.

I often work with women in large, male-dominated companies, and am hearing plenty of first hand stories from good male leaders reporting they are “too scared” to take young women under their wings.

This phenomenon is backed up by research conducted internationally, including by Sheryl Sandberg’s LeanIn.org, which has found the number of senior men who are “uncomfortable” mentoring women has more than tripled, from five to 16 per cent of male managers in the US now hesitate to mentor a woman.

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Australian reports reflect the same shifts in attitude, with 25 per cent of men feeling nervous about working alone with a female colleague, according to The Art of Mentoring.

For young women, mentor relationships are about building trust and having the confidence to discuss the good, the bad and the ugly with someone. Discomfort is not enough of a reason for senior men to withdraw from the compact all good executives should keep: to support emerging talent by offering young men and women an open door. Our workforce’s slow journey to gender equality will stall if men cite #MeToo as a reason to step back.