Mentors provide guidance and support, while sponsors use their influence to advocate for and promote a protege's career. Obtaining both mentors and sponsors is important for advancing in one's field and overcoming biases, yet women often have fewer sponsors than men. The document outlines strategies for how women can find and work with sponsors, and how men can act as allies in supporting women. Developing representation of women in technology fields through mentorship and sponsorship can help initiatives become self-sustaining over time.

1. Representation and Sponsorship
The Hurdle of Self-Sustaining Women in
Technology Initiatives
Kellyn Pot’Vin-Gorman, Data Platform Architect, Microsoft

2. Kellyn Pot’Vin-Gorman
Technical Solution Professional at Microsoft, Data Platform in
Power BI and AI
• Former Technical Intelligence Manager, Delphix
• Multi-platform DBA, (Oracle, MSSQL, MySQL, Sybase,
PostgreSQL, Informix…) and DevOps Engineer
• Oracle ACE Director, (Alumni)
• Oak Table Network Member
• Idera ACE Alumni 2018
• STEM education with Raspberry Pi and Python, including
DevOxx4Kids, Oracle Education Foundation and TechGirls
• Former President, Rocky Mtn Oracle User Group
• Current President, Denver SQL Server User Group
• Linux and DevOps author, instructor and presenter.
• Blogger, (http://dbakevlar.com) Twitter: @DBAKevlar

4. Different perspectives, experiences, and
insights improve decision-making and
lead to superior performance.
Lynn Doughtie

6. As a nation, we must be strategic in order to take
advantage of the talent we already have. It’s hard enough
for the U.S. to compete on a global stage, so we certainly
can’t leave half of our talent untapped.
Helen Drinan,
President of Simmons College

8. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/home.htm

11. The Importance of
Mentors
• Mentors provide guidepost.
• Their own stories offer hope and inspiration.
• Offer support when challenges seem overwhelming.
• Someone you can confide in.
• Have your interests in mind when advising.
• Aren’t always formal arrangements.

12. Women in business are talented leaders
who can share their skills as trainers,
mentors and advocates.
Melanne Verveer

13. How Are Sponsors Different?
• Offers insight on opportunities that may be overlooked, (promotions, projects and raises.)
• Introductions to network and opportunities outside of current role.
• Steps on how to build a career and not just based on advice.
• A sponsor has a deeper vested interest in your success.
And for the love of God, don’t confuse mentoring or sponsoring with
“Coaching”. ☺

14. Mentoring Is More Personal
Help me understand
my (professional) self;
1
Help me identify a
preferred operating
style;
2
Help me understand
where I might need to
change;
3
Give me a place to
express my fatigue
and frustration; and
4
Give me a place to
express my self-doubt
without negative
career ramifications.
5

15. Sponsoring is Action-Oriented
A sponsor has
authority in their
role.
1
Help me plan my
next role;
2
Promote me
within the
organization for
that role;
3
Support me as I
take charge in my
new role;
4
Endorse my
authority publicly;
5

16. Coaching SHOULD be an Independent and
External Relationship
Help me identify
why I’m stuck in
the pipeline;
1
Help me identify
and align my needs
and goals;
2
Help me to create a
career roadmap;
3
Help me to
understand and
articulate my value
proposition; and
4
Teach me how to
define and reach
my goals.
5

17. Asking for Mentors and Sponsors

18. Sponsorship
Brings
Women…
• Opportunities they might not be aware of without.
• Recognition that could be given to someone else.
• A voice when theirs is heard as a “whisper”.
• Extra support for their ideas, initiatives and
recommendations.
• Credit when bias arises or they’re less known.
• A helping hand when needed.
• Advice and guidance similar to a mentor.

19. Sponsorship is about putting your name and reputation on
the line for someone else. It could be as simple as
recommending someone for a new role, yet it's one of the
most powerful cultural tools any organization has.
Lynne Doughtie

20. The
Importance of
Both
• Its not a case of choosing, you should
have both.
• On average, men have 3-4 times more
sponsors than women in the
professional space.
• Having both results in:
• 43% better chance of promotions.
• 36% increase in salary increases
The Think Tank Center for Talent Innovation, 2013

21. Sponsors Choose People Like Themselves
• Overall 71% of sponsors choose to sponsor individuals like
themselves.
• Center for Talent Innovation found that this was true of both gender
and race.
• In a male-dominated industry, most sponsors are going to be male.
See the challenge?
http://fortune.com/2019/01/10/raceahead-sponsors-choose-proteges-who-are-like-
themselves/

22. How to Solve
this?
• Recommend that sponsors or employers with
sponsorship programs match senior leaders with high
potential employees from underrepresented
backgrounds
• Have clear goals and accountability to understand why
people are underrepresented in the first place.
• Male leaders should take the time to understand why
recommendations to “lean in” doesn’t work for women
and white leaders should learn about the challenges that
people of color are facing in the workplace.

23. Why Women Step Back From Sponsors
• They think its “cheating”.
• Heavy scrutiny and loss of credit often drives women to attempt to do it all on their own,
even when they need the support and assistance of sponsors.
• Choose Their Own
• Sponsors and mentors often choose people that remind them of themselves. Due to the
heavy percentage that are male, this can also leave women without.
• Awkward
• Due to lacking female mentors and sponsors, it can also leave men and women fearful of
reaching out and appearing susceptible to rumors or gossip.

24. How Men Can
be Allies
Support Support women when you know a problem exists. Get
comfortable begin uncomfortable.
Diffuse
When inappropriate behavior occurs, help to diffuse it as
peacefully as possible, (distractions, opportunity for the woman
to remove herself from the situation, etc.)
Be Aware Be aware of bias that seeps into conversations and openly
discuss.
Listen Listen to women and people of color.
Respect Respect professional and personal space.

25. The Questions
to Avoid
When a
Mentor or A
Sponsor of
Women
• Why aren’t women promoted at the same rate as
men?
• Why aren’t more women on corporate boards?
• Why aren’t more women heading up companies?
• Why aren’t women paid as much as men for doing
the same job?
• Why are so few women in the C-suite?
• Why aren’t more women in STEM jobs, where the
real money is?
These questions often lead to more scrutiny of
women instead of how you can help the woman
you’re mentoring overcome or succeed.
https://www.hrdive.com/news/study-advising-women-to-lean-in-misses-the-mark/508191/

26. Understanding Guy
Replies
• Understand those that
mean well vs. those that
may not.
• Focus on education over
persecution
• Choose a male ally to
intervene*
• Document if it escalates
https://twitter.com/9replyguys
*

27. “Lift as We
Rise”
• Self-evaluate for bias- we all have
them, women just as much as men.
• Yes, women can be biased against
other women.
• Help support other women, even ones
with older biases about “limited
number of seats at the table” for
women.
• Take the time to compliment other
women on professional or business
accomplishments. We’re often less
likely to do this due to how we
“verbally network.”

28. Why More
Should
Consider Being
A Sponsor
• When opportunity knocks and you can’t answer the
door, you know someone who can.
• Since you don’t say “No” but instead say, “I don’t have
the bandwidth, but I know who does!” you will be more
likely to be approached in the future.
• It’s a very two-way beneficial relationship. By
sponsoring, it’s a more rewarding connection that just
networking or mentoring.

29. Promise me you'll always remember:
You're braver than you believe, and
stronger than you seem, and smarter
than you think.
A.A. Milne

30. The Cost of
Sponsorship
• Ask the individual to consider taking up
opportunities without too much thought put into it,
(especially for women)
• Details will work themselves out in the end.
• Only consider top level priorities and how the
opportunity corresponds with reaching overall
goals.
• Request the person being sponsored remember to
become a sponsor themselves and learn to “life
others as they rise.”
• Give credit to sponsors and mentors, especially if
they are women, people of color or other diversity.

31. How This is Self-
Sustaining
Women in Technology requires representation.
• Representation is less in leadership and
technology.
• Increased mentoring and sponsorship, as
shown in these slides, will result in more
representation at higher levels.
• If we “lift as we rise”, it will help sustain and
grow women in technology.
• By having more representation, there is less
bias due to women in technology being the
norm instead of the outlier.

32. In You’re Interested in
Learning More:
• Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor, Sylvia Ann Hewlett:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1422187160/
• Women in Tech, Take Your Career to the Next Level, Tarah
Wheeler: https://www.amazon.com/Women-Tech-Practical-
Inspiring-Stories/dp/1632171406/
• Let Them Finish, Stories from the Trenches, Various Authors:
https://www.amazon.com/Stories-Trenches-Let-Them-
Finish/dp/1999431006
• Women in Tech and Gender Bias, Kellyn Pot’Vin-Gorman is
available for pre-order and will be out June, 2019:
https://www.amazon.com/Crushing-Gender-Bias-Thriving-
Technology/dp/1484244141/
• The Diversity Advantage, Ruchika Tulshyan:
https://www.rtulshyan.com/book

33. Discussion