MENTORING AS A MEANS OF INCREASING THE RETENTION OF UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS IN THE NAVY

Abstract

In this thesis, we researched revitalizing mentorship in the Navy in order to retain underrepresented talent for a career of service. For this, we analyzed the benefits of mentorship for the retention of women and minorities, researched the Navy’s previous mentorship program and its shortcomings, and laid out best practices from academic research. To collect data on the impact of Navy mentorship programs, we interviewed service members from underrepresented groups, creating five themes: the importance of the structure of mentoring programs, the necessity of interpersonal skills for mentors, the positive effects of mentoring beyond the defined mentorship relationship, the need for a balance between affinity and non-affinity mentorship, and that mentorship creates a significant burden for those who do it well. From our themes we developed three recommendations: increase soft skill development at leader development career waypoints, leverage existing informal affinity-based groups to engage more personnel, and develop a standardized, tailorable mentorship model for the fleet. These recommendations support positive impacts in service and in personal and professional relationships. Finally, we offer recommendations for future studies, including developing a survey based on the results of our interviews, producing a mentoring program prototype, and conducting a comparative analysis across gender, race, or rank.