Mentoring

Mentoring Relationships

Mentoring is developmentally driven, meaning that each person in the relationship works to help the other person with growth in a predetermined area or areas that arise such as vocational success or interpersonal skill development. In more formalized mentoring relationships, there is strategic design, meaning that a purpose for the relationship is clear, intentions are set, and there is a plan for engagement for both the mentor and the mentee. Mentoring relationships, while structured, often take a more natural form within the relationship, meaning that the mentor and mentee are friends and build a friendship across time. Mentors and mentees talk with each other, rather than giving directions to each other. Mentors can be teachers, professors or other faculty, academic advisers, in a workplace setting, or in the local community.

Identity Considerations for Cis Mentors

In trans communities, the mentor/mentees’ social identities play an important role. Those who identify as cisgender (cis) should ensure that they have thought deeply about the life experience and challenges that trans mentee’s experience. If cis mentors are unable to understand the trans mentee’s experience, trans mentees may find it hard to connect with cis mentors. Being knowledgeable about trans experiences takes the responsibility off the trans person to educate the cis mentor and makes for a safer and more comfortable environment where mentorship can happen without impediment. Cis people mentoring trans mentees should also consider the privileges that they have had in their personal and professional journeys. This consideration includes being mindful in understanding that they may have experienced fewer challenges because of their identification with the dominant group.

Identity Considerations for Trans Mentors

Mentors who identify as trans have a unique opportunity to talk about their own experiences as trans people with trans mentees and give them the space they need to grow in their own identities. Research suggests trans mentorship may be especially important because trans mentors have the ability to share how they have navigated unsafe or oppressive spaces, as well as the everyday tasks that can be daunting for trans communities (e.g., using the restroom in the workplace, coming out to peers, navigating physical and emotional changes related to transition).

Identity Considerations for All Mentors

No matter if a mentor is trans or cis, other considerations of identity are particularly important to reflect upon. These considerations include the race and/or ethnicity of a mentor/mentee pairing. Understanding how racism affects a mentee is particularly important because trans people of color, particularly Black trans people, are disproportionately discriminated against and have more violence enacted upon them. Classism is another system that should be considered. Mentees who come from a background of lower socioeconomic status may have fewer opportunities to engage in the types of development that a mentor may suggest and may have less access to resources like housing, financial support, “professional” clothing, and social engagements, which can affect their long-term success. [Page 529]Some other considerations for mentoring trans people are the extra barriers they face, which can make their professional and personal relationships more difficult. Many trans people use names and pronouns that are different from those assigned to them at birth. Navigating using a different name and pronouns, as well as navigating the legal name change process, can be difficult and cause trans mentees much stress in searching for educational, professional, or other opportunities that may require the revealing of their “deadname,” the name given to them at birth.

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