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Part of the problem here, which the article doesn't quite reach, is that the possible pool of mentors is growing but those women are themselves lacking in the confidence they need to become mentors. Encourage your female engineering senior managers and leaders to knowing that they are respected and capable of being role models and mentors to others if they choose!

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At my current company everyone at a manager or above level becomes a career advisor for several younger resources. Every advisor has to go through HR training to do this and they are expected to spend a not insignificant amount of time each year helping each advisee. Also every non-manager has a career advisor.

I believe that this system really helps push people to focus on helping others in the organization and really making them focus on how others can be successful even if their path wouldn't be the same as theirs. Another aspect of the current system is the advisees can request to have different advisors if they feel others are better suited to understanding their background and goals.

I like to naively think that this system benefits both the advisor and advisee and both can get a tremendous benefit from the relationship. Overall having a mentor and mentoring others is a great tool for personal and professional growth. On several occasions I have had to really think about how to discuss options with my advisees who have different cultural backgrounds from myself.

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