PhD students Diane Tshikudi (left) and Courtney Marshall (centre) network with immunology professor Dr. Deanna Santer.
WISDOM mentorship program connects women scientists at UM
When the UM organization known as WISDOM (Women in Science: Development, Outreach and Mentorship) launched its mentorship program in 2023, Courtney Marshall was thrilled to see the large crowd of faculty members and students who had signed up.
“We had about 70 mentors and mentees at the launch event,” says Marshall, a PhD student in immunology. “It was really nice to see a roomful of women who wanted to support other women in science.”
WISDOM was founded in 2018, aiming to connect and encourage women in science. The organization is supported by the UM Rady Faculty of Health Sciences and is affiliated with the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology.
The WISDOM mentorship program runs each year from May through December. Currently, it has about 95 participants. The sign-up period for both mentors and mentees for next year will start in January 2025.
With about 25 mentors and 70 mentees currently taking part, the mentors are put into pairs. Each pair is matched with a small group of mentees.
Each group agrees on a schedule for getting together – sometimes for fun activities like a picnic – and mentees can also book one-on-one time with mentors. A few events are held to bring all program participants together.
So far, most participants have been professors and graduate students in the health sciences. But women faculty members and grad students from all the sciences at UM are welcome, and so are undergraduate students, says Marshall, mentorship program co-ordinator on the WISDOM Trainee Working Group executive. “The broad vision is to be inclusive of all women in science at UM.”
The group structure allows for peer-to-peer networking, says Marshall, who is herself a mentee.
Many of the mentees are international students who appreciate gaining insight about the Canadian academic system, says mentee Diane Tshikudi, who is also a PhD student in immunology and a co-chair of the WISDOM Trainee Working Group.
Mentors can advise mentees on matters such as setting career goals, attending conferences, getting papers published, choosing a supportive advisor, and identifying what university would be a good fit for the mentee’s postdoctoral work.
But non-academic conversations are also important, the mentees say. “A lot of the discussion is about how you manage life as a woman researcher,” Tshikudi says.
“A lot of our mentors balance being a successful scientist with being a mom,” Marshall says. “We’ve heard over and over that the best time to start a family is during your postdoc, before you become a faculty member.”
Being mentored by established women faculty members can be enormously helpful in navigating the unwritten norms and expectations of academia, the mentees say.
“It’s a game, and if you have the right coaches, you can be better at the game,” says Marshall.
Dr. Deanna Santer, assistant professor of immunology, has participated as a WISDOM mentor in both 2023 and 2024 and sits on the organization’s executive team. Partly because she didn’t have female mentors early in her own academic journey, she says, she wants to provide that for the current generation.
“I didn’t know or work with any woman scientists until later in my undergraduate degree,” Santer says. “So I love meeting with mentees to answer their questions and just talk about all things related to being a woman in science.
“Beyond the typical career advice, I have been asked about being a mother. Family-life balance is hard in any job, but I think mentees have appreciated the honesty about it from mentors who are mothers.”
Mentees feel comfortable asking WISDOM mentors questions that they don’t feel they can ask elsewhere, the participants add.
“This program increases your support network,” Tshikudi says. “We’re helping each other to rise up.”
Faculty members or students who are interested in the mentorship program can join the WISDOM mailing list or email WISDOMMentorship@umanitoba.ca.
WISDOM is holding its annual Equity Symposium on Oct. 30, 2024 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. The event, titled “Equity in Science: Beyond Academia,” will include a career mentorship panel.
The deadline for abstracts is Oct. 15. The deadline to register for the symposium is Oct. 20.