Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | May 27, 2024 | Worcester Business Journal 21 Why women mentors should pick male mentees BY CONNIE ASKIN Special to WBJ I oen read about why men should be gender-blind in picking mentees and how it's important for women to find male mentors to help them climb the corporate ladder. Frankly, there should be more focus on female mentors with male mentees. Workplace mentoring is sometimes posed as a very direct and simple value proposition: Increase your visibility with leadership, expand your professional network, or receive situational coaching. One level deeper, a more profound set of benefits exist: • Increase your self-awareness and self-confidence; • Reduce anxiety; • Practice your communication skills with people who have different perspectives; • Develop the art of seeking and receiving feedback. A female mentor may both wield these skills differently than men and may be more likely to invest in their mentee's development. A study of 500 subjects – aptly named, "e Relationship between Mentee-Mentor Gender Combination and the Provision of Distinct Mentoring Functions" – published In Women in Management Review found: "Female mentors provided personal and emotional guidance to a greater extent than male mentors; female mentors provided career development facilitation to a greater extent than male mentors." Interestingly, the mentor experience was neutral: "As far as mentors were concerned, there were no significant differences in the functions provided to female and male mentees." A female mentor's lived experience can provide an important viewpoint on how to decode the politics and culture of a workplace. She can offer insights to your effectiveness as a listener, test your level of inclusiveness in a marketing plan, or spark an a-ha moment about how your customer base behaves. Of course, male mentors are important, too. e point is in our post-COVID world, where everything is in a state of flux, seeking out diverse perspectives leads to better decision-making and more resilience. So men, if you are seeking personal as well as professional growth, ask a woman to be your mentor. Connie Askin is CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Mass & MetroWest. Population central Connie Askin T he U.S. Census Bureau's mid-May release of city and county populations for 2023 prove Central Massachusetts – particularly Worcester – is an increasingly popular place. e data shows Worcester County's estimated population now sits at 866,866, an 0.84% increase from 2020. e population of Middlesex County, which includes areas like MetroWest inside of Central Massachusetts and those outside of it like Greater Cambridge, did shrink slightly over the same time period but sits at 1.62 million people. Among the large communities in Central Massachusetts, Worcester took the crown, with a 1.25% increase to 207,621 people, while places like Framingham, Marlborough, Leominster, and Fitchburg all saw slight dips. It should be noted all these numbers are estimates by the Census Bureau, although they come aer the 2020 decennial census, which showed the city of Worcester grew in population faster than any other major city in New England. Aer seemingly being relegated to also-ran status behind the Bostons, Providences, and Portlands of the region, at least in terms of its perceived positive momentum, Worcester is turning into a place to be. Whether it is people from Eastern Massachusetts seeking cheaper costs of living, new workers finding employment opportunities in Central Massachusetts, or college students choosing to stay, the situation presents both opportunities and challenges for the region and its economy. Lack of housing is a major issue, and transportation infrastructure could be significantly better. Human services nonprofits are strained to the brink and, like most employers, are struggling to find the staffing to meet those needs. Organizations and communities can get locked into traditional ways of thinking, and these existing problems exacerbated by an influx of people need to have new solutions, however complex they may need to be. Nonetheless, a rising population is an economic superpower, and organizations of all kinds need to understand the opportunity before them. More people living in the region means a larger workforce, to fill the entire range of job openings and fulfill business expansion plans. More people means more skillsets and an improved collective brainpower, spitting out new ideas with the potential for innovative breakthroughs. Central Massachusetts has the higher education infrastructure to support new learning and growth of key industries. Aer years and years of talk, planning, hoping, and coaxing, Central Massachusetts finally has some wind in its sails, fueled by a variety of factors. If this opportunity to capitalize on strengthening our regional economy is seized today, it will have compound positive impacts for decades to come. W The above Editorial is the opinion of the WBJ Editorial Board. The Viewpoint column, the A Thousand Words cartoon, and the Word from the Web commentary represent the opinions of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of WBJ or its staff. WBJ welcomes letters to the editor and commentary submissions. Send them to bkane@wbjournal.com. W

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