Mentoring: A Catalyst for Advancement in Administration

Journal of Career Developmen.t, Vol. 24(4), Summer 1998 The number of women in the work force has increased sharply during the past century. If projections are accurate, this trend will continue well into the next century. According to the Statistical Abstract of the United States 1991, the workforce consisted of a total labor force of 123.9 million. Of these, 76.9 million were males and 56.0 million were females (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1991). The expected civilian labor force for the year 2000 will be 141.1 million and will be compromised of 74.3 million males and 66.9 million females, reflecting an increase of 9.6 percent in the male population and a 19.5 percent in the female population. However, even though a large number of women are joining the work force each year, few are moving into upper level positions, including academic administration. Studies have shown that &dquo;[t]he higher you go in the academic hierarchy, the fewer women you find&dquo; (Andre’ and Edwards, 1979, p. 12). According to Follon (1983) &dquo;there