The Color Vision Founder Mia Davis Educates Us On How Mentorship Can Help Black Women In The Workplace Or As Entrepreneurs

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Mentors Are Sounding Boards

Similarly, mentors make great sounding boards. Even though Black women are disproportionately affected by the “mentorship gap,” your mentor should be someone you feel comfortable talking to, no matter what race they end up being. This ensures that when you have work-related ideas you’re afraid to share in the office, or just need someone to vent to, you’ll have someone who knows the ins-and-outs of your industry that you can bounce things off of.

Because Black women have less access to mentorship than their counterparts in the workplace, there’s also a scarcity of Black women in high-level roles. In essence, the cycle that that stops Black women from getting mentors is the same one that prevents them from landing the leadership roles that would make mentors.

Davis broke it down by saying, “because Black women are less likely to rise above ‘manager’ titles in corporate America, we often see white women with the higher titles we want, which makes it feel nearly impossible to get to director level and above.”

“Due to this, there’s less access to mentorship and opportunities for Black women, that’s why the women who are able to help should and do,” she says.