I’m back from enjoying some vacation time with my family and I’ve come across this very interesting article in the Harvard business Review written by Herminia Ibarra, Nancy M. Carter and Christine Silva, “Why Men Still Get More Promotions Than Women.”

The article reveals that women are getting lots of opportunities for mentoring, but suggests that not all mentoring is created equal and that mentorship alone, without the sponsorship of senior executives, is not enough.

The authors describe sponsorship as, “a special kind of relationship, in which the mentor goes beyond giving feedback and advice and uses his or her influence with senior executives to advocate for the mentee.”

The authors clearly state, "that high-potential women are over-mentored and under-sponsored relative to their male peers—and that they are not advancing in their organizations."

They conclude their article with the following statement: “More sponsoring may lead to more and faster promotions for women, but it is not a magic bullet: There is still much to do to close the gap between men’s and women’s advancement. Some improvements—such as supportive bosses and inclusive cultures—are a lot harder to mandate than formal mentoring programs but essential if those programs are to have their intended effects. Clearly, however, the critical first step is to stop over-mentoring and start accountable sponsoring for both sexes.”

Think about how a sponsor might help you achieve that promotion you have been working towards. Is your mentor simply giving you advice and feedback, but not actually promoting you within the upper circles in your organization? Perhaps providing a copy of this article would help your mentor appreciate the difference between mentoring and sponsoring and help create understanding around how effective sponsoring can be.