Mentoring supports minority women building careers in academic medicine
A mentoring scheme is helping more women from ethnic minority backgrounds become academic professors.
The diversity of the UK’s population is not reflected in the academic medicine workforce.
If it were, around 8.5% of academic professors in the UK would be women from ethnic minority groups. The actual figure stands at only 3.6%.
Southampton researchers launched a national mentoring scheme to address this gap. It is called Academic Intersectionality Mentoring in Medical Schools (AIMMS Mentoring).
A new study has evaluated the impact of the programme. The findings, published in PLOS ONE, highlight the important role of mentorship.
AIMMS Mentoring is led by Southampton’s Professor Nisreen Alwan who co-authored the study. She is part of the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre (BRC).
Supporting positive development
AIMMS Mentoring was established during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is led by the University of Southampton in partnership with universities across the UK and the Academy of Medical Sciences.
The scheme was set up to support women from ethnic minority backgrounds in academic medicine and health sciences.
Since 2024, it has been available to all UK medical schools. This is thanks to its adoption by the Medical Schools Council.
The study was co-authored by Professor Alwan and Mirembe Woodrow. They worked with colleagues from partner institutions.
Questionnaires were used to capture information from both mentors and mentees.
Responses indicated that the scheme was helpful. It was seen to be effective at supporting career progression and fostering mentorship relationships. This is helping to create a more inclusive academic environment.
Professor Alwan, Professor of Public Health at the University of Southampton, said: “We are delighted that the AIMMS Mentoring evaluation revealed that both participating mentors and mentees reported positive personal and professional development.
“It is so important to support under-represented groups in academic medicine. Diversity in leadership is likely to reflect in wider societal benefits, particularly in relation to health inequalities.”
‘Going from strength to strength’
AIMMS Mentoring has been acknowledged as a “gold standard” activity in the Faculty of Medicine’s Athena Swan submission. The recognition is for its role in addressing structural barriers to leadership.
The Athena Swan initiative is advancing gender equality in UK higher education. It has recently increased its focus on intersectionality.
Mirembe Woodrow said: “AIMMS Mentoring’s uniqueness as a scheme available across all UK medical schools is a great strength. It helps women from similar backgrounds connect and find advice and support.
“Our evaluation informed further improvements to the programme. I can see AIMMS Mentoring going from strength to strength in the future.”
Professor Lucy Green is Chair of the Faculty Athena Swan self-assessment committee. Professor Green said:
“It is a beautiful idea which is clearly popular among the partner institutions. It is also effective in supporting career progression.
“We already knew the power of mentoring and allies, but the national nature of this scheme expands the scope of support, shared learning and experience in a really effective way.”
Looking ahead, AIMMS Mentoring plans to extend its support to postgraduate students. It will also add more intersectional groups.
AIMMS Mentoring is looking for new mentors and mentees. More information is available here.