Wednesday, March 7, 2018 Marriott Downtown, Salon K I’m Sorry I’m Being So Bossy: How Authentic, Female Relational Mentoring Can Change the Landscape for Female Professionals Lauren Doerner, University of Kentucky Daphne Arnold, University of Kentucky Kenyatta Jeter, University of Kentucky Wednesday, March 7, 2018 Marriott Downtown, Salon K

Who We Are & Why We Are Here Together we will… Connect feminist leadership to our mentor relationships Make a plan for initiating and preserving a mentor relationship Identify your skills that make you a mentor for women in student affairs Provide our backgrounds Provide information on why this topic is important to us. Who are our female mentors that we turn to What does being a mentor or having a mentor mean to us?

Your Turn! Who Are You? Why This Session? If not many people in attendance, opportunity for everyone to introduce themselves. If too many to go around the room, then turn to neighbors and introduce selves.

2014 Data– collected through Forbes, Bitch Magazine, Chronicle of Higher Ed, and American Council on Education “Moving the Needle”

Infographic: 2014 Data– collected through Forbes, Bitch Magazine, Chronicle of Higher Ed, and American Council on Education “Moving the Needle” Don’t have data on trans students, trans leaders, or those who identify as gender queer What does the data tell us? Women are greatly underrepresented in executive positions at four-year, doctoral-granting, research institutions.  While accounting for over half of the collegiate population and over sixty percent of the entry and mid-level professionals, women hold less than half of the senior-level positions in student affairs (Ford, 2015).  History has shown that administrators believe these inequities to work themselves out over time. However, within higher education and outside of it as well, women are still grossly underrepresented in positions of leadership (Kellerman & Rhode, 2017). Women expected to just be patient. It will work itself out: women’s equal representation at top is simply a matter of time. Pipeline from mid-level to upper admin is a pipe dream. Even more for women of color

Stereotypes of women in the field – presenters share “favorites” and provide quick anecdotes if comfortable Ask participants for examples. Often women feel like they have to choose: be beta or be bossy. What would it look like if women were just supported with what they needed?

Feminist Leadership focuses on Authenticity Empowering Others Fairness Striving for Social Justice and Equity Feminist Leadership provides space for women’s voices Personally Collaboratively Publicly “Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression” authenticity, empowering others, fairness, striving for social justice and equity Allows for hearing women’s voices that have been silenced (thurber & Zimmerman, 2002) --Personal voice: feeling empowered and validated through self-reflection --Collaborative voice: speaking and sharing with others --Public voice: becoming agents for change “Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.” – bell hooks (2000), Feminism is for Everybody

Self-Based Model of Authentic Leader and Follower Development (2005) Positive modeling is viewed as a primary means whereby leaders develop authentic followers. Posited outcomes of authentic leader–follower relationships include heightened levels of follower trust in the leader, engagement, workplace well-being and veritable, sustainable performance. Authenticity can be defined as “owning one’s personal experiences, be they thoughts, emotions, needs, wants, preferences, or beliefs, processes captured by the injunction to know ‘oneself’” (Harter, 2002). Thus, authenticity involves both owning one’s personal experiences (values, thoughts, emotions and beliefs) and acting in accordance with one’s true self (expressing what you really think and believe and behaving accordingly) ( Harter, 2002). First and foremost, an authentic leader must achieve authenticity, as defined above, through self-awareness, self-acceptance, and authentic actions and relationships. However, authentic leadership extends beyond the authenticity of the leader as a person to encompass authentic relations with followers and associates. These relationships are characterized by: a) transparency, openness, and trust, b) guidance toward worthy objectives, and c) an emphasis on follower development. Authentic followership development is largely modeled by the authentic leader to produce heightened levels of followers’ self-awareness and self-regulation leading to positive follower development and outcomes. Self-Based Model of Authentic Leader and Follower Development (2005) Gardner’s (et. al.)

Finding a Mentor Being a Mentor Recognizes Your Needs Understands Your Experience Makes Your Successes Personal Recognize Their Needs Understand Their Experience Make Their Successes Personal Consider… How does this help recruit and retain women in the field? Need a mentor that understands your needs as a woman and models your relationship based on that Stereotypes do not define you, and you are actively fighting against them. Does not have to share your intersecting identities, but they must understand your experiences Authenticity is an echo…in being authentic with others, it encourages people to be authentic in return. Finding a mentor with whom you can be authentic can result in you mentoring someone yourself. When others feel valued, their workplace engagement increases. When they feel as though they are heard and that they matter, they will have a positive experience. When they see women being inspired and moving up the pipeline becomes a reality as opposed to a dream. That person looks like me and is doing it. I can do it too. Presenters share success stories of seeing a woman in our field be successful as they would define it.

Small Group Discussion Who has been the biggest influences in your career? Are these folks serving as a current or past mentor? Why do you admire this person/these people? Share a story that highlights the relationship you have with this person. What do you need in a mentor? What are your goals in higher education? When bringing the groups back to focus, consider what things a person needs to do to initiate a mentoring relationship. What are the obstacles to consider when preserving a mentoring relationship? How do participants maintain their relationships?

What Do You Offer? What draws people to you? What are your strengths? What are the moments in which you have said “This is the real me?” How can your goals influence others around you? Is there someone in your life right now who needs guidance? What will you do next?

Thank you for joining us today! Please remember to complete your online evaluation following the conference. See you in Los Angeles in 2019!