Sponsorship/Mentoring

Sponsors are advocates in positions of authority who use their influence intentionally to help others advance, while mentors provide advice, feedback, and coaching. Both are important to advancement as employees navigate the workplace and earn opportunities for growth.

  • Catalyzing
    Be Somebody—Get Sponsored

    I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too? --Emily Dickenson

    - - -

    How does a nobody become a somebody? By being sponsored.

    Sponsors are like mentors—except they advocate for advancement. The latest Catalyst research on the careers of more than 4,000 M.B.A. graduates shows that more women...

    August 17, 2010 by Ilene H. Lang

  • Catalyzing
    The Ropes

    This just in: the latest Catalyst research highlights deep challenges—and potential solutions—for women seeking to climb the corporate ladder.

    For the fifth year in a row, our Census of women leaders in the Fortune 500 showed that women are stuck. Women hold only 14.4% of Executive Officer...

    December 13, 2010 by Ilene H. Lang

  • Catalyzing
    C This

    Catalyst’s latest Census of female leadership in the Fortune 500 and our report, Mentoring: Necessary But Insufficient for Advancement, received strong media coverage last week. Below are two clips highlighting the new research. Also in C This, new studies point to the challenges that Indian...

    December 20, 2010 by Ilene H. Lang

  • Catalyzing
    Holiday Wishes

    To mark the end of 2010—and my final Catalyzing post until January 2011—I asked my colleagues at Catalyst what they wish for in the days ahead for women and work. Here are Catalyst’s top ten wishes for 2011:

    We wish for…

    10. Inclusive, agile work cultures that reward results rather than...

    December 22, 2010 by Ilene H. Lang

  • Catalyzing
    Voices on Road to Equality

    One year ago, we launched Catalyzing with the belief that until women achieve parity in business leadership, we will be marginalized in every other arena. More than 70 blog posts and 65,000+ page views later, we’ve only scratched the surface.

    What gives me hope amid entrenched pay and leadershi...

    February 3, 2011 by Ilene H. Lang

  • Catalyzing
    Guest Post: Setting Up Success

    Last month, my colleagues Jan Combopiano, Vice President & Chief Knowledge Officer, and Michael J. Chamberlain, Senior Director, Brand Management & Events, hosted a webinar on our latest research on the importance of sponsorship. The event was a tremendous success, with more than 1,500 people...

    February 9, 2011 by Jan Combopiano, Michael J. Chamberlain

  • Catalyzing
    Awards 2011

    The days leading up to the Catalyst Awards Dinner and Conference are always exciting. Anticipation is high, work is frenetic—and it’s all worth it!

    At this year’s sold-out dinner, I will be joined at New York City’s Waldorf=Astoria by close to 100 CEOs and leaders of major corporations,...

    March 25, 2011 by Ilene H. Lang

  • Catalyzing
    Getting Stung

    This week, media outlets in India, the UK and US ran stories about the so-called “Queen Bee Syndrome,” a phenomenon where women bosses ostensibly “wreck a woman’s promotion prospects.” In the guest-post below, Catalyst researcher Christine Silva tackles the myth of the Queen Bee. Don’t...

    April 14, 2011 by Christine Silva

  • Catalyzing
    C This

    Corporate boards have grown less diverse over the past six years—but why? Is the recession to blame, or an uptick in African-Americans choosing to retire from boards, or an unintended consequence of U.S. financial legislation? To find out more about the culprits—and what you can do to help...

    May 9, 2011 by Ilene H. Lang

  • Catalyzing
    Sponsorship: Beyond Platitudes

    To mark the launch of Sponsoring Women to Success, I invited lead author, Heather Foust-Cummings, to discuss its key findings. In the coming weeks, we’ll also hear from Heather’s co-authors, Jennifer Kohler and Sarah Dinolfo. In today’s guest post, Heather cuts through the jargon and...

    August 17, 2011 by Heather Foust-Cummings, PhD