Mentorship vs Sponsorship: Understanding the difference in DE&I

Both mentorship and sponsorship play critical roles within the framework of both corporate entities and the individual professional journeys, and it’s important to understand the difference when evaluating which will be most effective, particularly as it relates to a DE&I strategy. Generally, it comes down to the parties involved, how they relate to one another and what they’re looking to get out of it.

What is mentorship?

Typically, mentorship is comprised of two people, one with more experience than the other, and the focus is around growth and personal or professional development. Mentorship within a DE&I context can be structured to address a growing employee resource group community; as we know, a large reason for continuing underrepresentation of many groups is due to the lack of diverse networks within senior leadership teams. Mentorship in these programs gives leaders an opportunity to meet more diverse members. This provides increased opportunity and access for both sides of the equation.