Paying it Forward: An Exploration of Mentor Experiences Among Women Sheet Metal Workers

Abstract

Tradeswomen are underrepresented in the construction industry and face gendered occupational risk factors that impact mental and physical health. Mentorship is a tradeswomen-identified strategy to support the retention and wellbeing of incoming workers to cope with negative gendered experiences. We conducted a five-year randomized control trial to evaluate the efficacy of a mentorship program for women sheet metal workers, which included an online mentorship training for mentors. Here, we explore the experience of mentors in the program, including their reflections about how the mentorship training and program impacted them, their mentees, and their communities. Ten interviews were conducted and thematically analyzed using deductive codes informed by Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and inductive codes that emerged from the data. Mentors described their motivation to support mentees through the lens of their gendered experience in the field and reported understanding and using skills from the training with their mentees and in their own lives, including the development of communication skills and increased confidence. They expressed motivation to engage in tradeswomen-supportive programming at the local level because of participating in the program. Mentors also reported significant barriers to mentorship, including lack of time, lack of responsiveness from mentees, and cultural norms in the trades. These findings provide insight and context into the dimensions of the mentor role in an occupational-health focused intervention. These results inform recommendations for future tradeswomen-supportive programming; they also shed light on the role of individuals as intermediaries in supporting health promoting behavior.