FAIM Philosophy for Inclusive Mentorship

Inclusive mentoring relationships require an individualized approach where a mentor considers the mentee as a whole person: their identities, cultural backgrounds, interests, goals, strengths, and areas for development.

Mentees who feel affirmed for who they are as whole individuals through their mentoring relationships experience a greater academic and social sense of belonging, which leads to more positive and productive outcomes for both mentees and mentors.

Within supportive mentoring relationships, mentors and mentees actively share responsibility for defining and communicating their mutual expectations and goals on an ongoing basis and as the mentee progresses in their academic and professional journey.

Applying an inclusive mentoring framework supports equity-based systemic change and benefits the well-being and success of mentees, mentors, academic programs, and our greater scholarly community.

FAIM Key Principles of Inclusive Mentorship

FAIM’s key principles of inclusive mentorship transcend relationship differences, and they help mentees feel affirmed for who they are as whole individuals and accelerate their academic and professional productivity and success.

The key principles of inclusive mentorship are:

Collaboratively defining and communicating mutual expectations

Establishing and retaining a shared understanding of expectations through ongoing communication

Being mentee-centered

Prioritizing the needs and interests of mentees and supporting their purpose for pursuing their scholarly work

Using a growth mindset orientation

Applying a strengths-based approach centered on the mentor and mentee’s abilities to learn and develop

Acting with care and expressing compassion

Intentionally providing mentees with encouragement and demonstrating empathy and kindness

Fostering mentee health and well-being

Providing an environment supportive of physical and mental well-being, and promoting help-seeking behaviors

Affirming mentee identities, abilities, and aspirations

Contributing to and reinforcing mentee self-efficacy and academic and social sense of belonging

Practicing cultural humility

Engaging in an ongoing process of self-exploration and self-critique, and demonstrating a willingness to learn from others and honor their cultures and identities

Addressing relational power dynamics

Recognizing and mitigating the implications of power dynamics present within academic hierarchical structures