Mentoring and diversity - Belle Rose Ragins

Organizations with a diverse workforce will have a leading edge in the New World economy. 'Mentoring and Diversity' illustrates the importance of mentoring as a proactive tool in diversity initiatives, and demonstrates how mentoring can be used to recruit, develop and retain a diverse and innovative workforce.

This book brings together new and innovative perspectives on diversity and mentoring relationships within a variety of international settings. 'Mentoring and Diversity' provides a unique blend of research and practice, and is an indispensable guide for any company that seeks to develop a more diverse workforce. It will serve as a fundamental text for practitioners interested in developing effective mentoring programmes and for researchers seeking to understand these critical and complex relationships.

Interviews, cases and qualitative data from a variety of international settings are used to support the models and theries developed in the text. These cases illustrate "diversity in action" in mentoring relationships, and provide guidance for developing effective mentoring programmes and diverse mentoring relationships in organizations.

The book is composed of four sections that reflect theory, research and practice:

* An overview of the theory and research on diversified mentoring relationships, followed by an applied model of diversity in mentoring relationships.
* Some empirically based and pragmatic observations of "best practices" that are used by diversified mentoring programmes in various international contexts.
* A collection of international case studies of diversity in both mentoring programmes and individual mentoring relationships. These cases illustrate the challenges and benefits associated with diversity in mentoring relationships. Organizational cases are drawn from such companies as Procter & Gamble, Volvo and World Bank. These cases provide practical guidance on how to develop effective mentoring programmes.
* An integrative analysis of some of the recurring themes in the case studies that are supported by existing research but also chart new ground for emerging reseach and theory.