Encouraging women students to persist in engineering and science through industrial mentoring using electronic communications

The under-representation of women in engineering and related fields has been well-documented, with negative consequences for the talent pool available for the future workforce and equal opportunity. Mentoring has been lauded as a strategy to improve retention of women students in engineering and related fields. Electronic communications now can support a cost-effective opportunity for mentoring which transcends previous constraints to extensive mentoring programs-time, synchronous communication, and geography. In early 1998, WEPAN, the Women in Engineering Programs and Advocates Network, launched "MentorNet," a national electronic industrial mentoring program. MentorNet pairs undergraduate and graduate women studying engineering and related sciences with volunteers in industry in a year-long structured mentoring relationship conducted via e-mail. MentorNet offers on-line applications, matching, training, and ongoing coaching for participants, and evaluation. In its pilot semester in early 1998, MentorNet paired 204 students from 15 universities with mentors in industry. In 1998-99, 539 students from 26 universities were matched with mentors. Continuing increases in scale are expected in subsequent years. One question frequently raised in the course of establishing MentorNet is "can electronic communications effectively support mentoring?" This paper addresses that concern, drawing upon related research and the experience to date of those involved with the MentorNet program.