Table 2 Intersectionality mentorship framework
Core construct | Definition | Construct within mentoring context | Research question |
|---|---|---|---|
Social context | Locations or nexuses of identities, in which individuals and systems interpret each other along varying intersecting lines (e.g., race, gender, ethnicity) | Contextualizing mentoring relations within HE systems | 1) What impact do the social contexts of WOC have on their mentoring experiences in STEM HE? |
Relationality | Interconnected and mutually productive contextualized relations among social categories | Mentoring gains meaning through the relational interactions between individuals | |
Power | Interconnected, mutually productive systems and structures of domination and oppression | Mentor–mentee relationship creates a power dynamic reinforced, or not, by situated systems and structures | 2) What role does intersectionality play in the structural organization of WOC mentoring models in STEM HE? 3) How has intersectionality shaped the life experiences of WOC mentors and mentees? |
Social inequality | Material and experiential outcomes that are the result of socially constructed relations depicted as natural | Mentoring that ignores the patterns of social inequality | |
Complexity | Social inequality, power, relationality, and social context are intertwined | Variations within certain populations require intragroup, contextualized examinations, and practices of mentoring | |
Social justice | Center social transformational change and holistic interactions in activist praxis and scholarly knowledge production | Mentoring can lead to deconstructing and transforming inequitable HE systems | 4) How can mentoring models utilize intersectionality to incorporate the experiences of WOC in STEM HE? |