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The present paper aims at discussing the transformative potential of an e‐mentoring support with regard to mentors' and mentees' learning and behavioral aspects, through an empirical study based on rural women entrepreneurs in Greece.

Mentors' and mentees' perceptions with regard to the benefits they acquired in terms of knowledge, skills and behavioral aspects were assessed through questionnaires that were collected in three time periods – before, right after and six months upon the completion of the intervention.

E‐mentoring can serve as a dynamic, two‐fold relationship that can create a significant learning database benefiting both sides. Mentees' knowledge and skills were positively influenced, while their attitudes facing uncertainty, flexibility and innovation were found to be strongly influenced in the short and long run. Mentors did not seem to acquire extraordinary benefits from e‐mentoring in terms of knowledge and skills, while their attitudes towards flexibility and interest in people demonstrate a marginally negative tendency. Both mentors' and mentees' self‐confidence demonstrated an increased tendency and was influenced throughout the intervention and six months upon its completion.

Besides benefiting the direct e‐mentoring participants and enhancing the development of women entrepreneurship, findings can also significantly benefit management and policy‐makers alike, creating avenues to further advance future efforts and practices in raising tomorrow's women entrepreneurs.

Theoretical and empirical evidence in the field of e‐mentoring as well as on encouraging future women entrepreneurs remains scarce. The present paper constitutes a first step towards suggesting an approach to e‐mentoring practices, raising awareness and faith with regard to the beneficial role that e‐mentoring support can have in the development of women entrepreneurship.

The purpose of this paper is to advance the argument for the transformative potential of e‐mentoring support to women entrepreneurs, presenting an e‐mentoring intervention to rural women entrepreneurs in Greece.

A six stage e‐mentoring process is practiced through a project supporting rural women entrepreneurs, based on mentees' and mentors' reactions. Their expressed degree of satisfaction with regard to the e‐mentoring relationship, achievement of personal goals, as well as their desire to continue the relationship are served as useful indicators. Questionnaires are used during three times (pre and post the e‐mentoring relationship, i.e. before, just after its end and six months later) to obtain information from mentees' and mentors' groups.

The features of the quality of the e‐mentoring relationship such as mentors'/mentees' characteristics, frequency of contacts, and e‐services are judged to be satisfactory by both mentors and mentees. Mentees perceive that they sufficiently achieved their personal goals, emphasizing the successful role modeling that their mentors provide. Mentors gain publicity and the broadening of their connections.

The survey results could offer substantial assistance to decision makers concerning designing and implementing e‐mentoring processes supporting female entrepreneurship.

Despite the explosion of online mentoring opportunities, few academic articles and little empirical evidence have addressed e‐mentoring support to women entrepreneurs. The present paper attempts to add research results and suggests a framework of e‐mentoring process discussing both mentors' and mentees' reactions.

This paper draws upon policy‐based research that was conducted for the SBS South East to provide a meta‐review of academic literature that examines the role of e‐mentoring in entrepreneurial education and support. Four education and training relevant themes are explored: What is e‐mentoring in SMEs? How effective is e‐mentoring in SMEs? What examples are there of e‐mentoring in SMEs? What advice is there on introducing e‐mentoring for SMEs? The article concludes that current research falls short of a robust evaluation; nevertheless, by drawing upon a range of associated e‐mentoring research it has been possible to provide some helpful examples of practice and tentative advice on the introduction of such schemes.

Many of today’s top organizations have implemented formal mentoring programs as a vital strategy to attract, develop, and retain talent. Human resource professionals have long recognized mentoring programs as an effective method to grow their organization’s intellectual capital and remain competitive. Both qualitative and quantitative research found that mentored employees experience job satisfaction, productivity and career advancement, which in turn creates profitability and cost savings for organizations. Historically, formal workplace mentoring programs were for a select number of employees. Due to time and geography constraints, face-to-face meetings between mentor and protégé were difficult to coordinate. While traditional mentoring programs provide benefit, logistics prohibit these relationships from taking full progression, giving rise to a new alternative: E-Mentoring. E-Mentoring lowers hurdles to participation using synchronous and asynchronous computer-mediated means. Technological advances and forms of computer-mediated communication such as emails, chat groups, and video conferencing offer the potential for enhancing the E-Mentoring process. These new methods help to transcend functional, sectoral, and hierarchical barriers of formal mentoring relationships. Also, the non-face-to-face nature of the E-Mentoring relationship overcomes traditional barriers of age, race, gender, and status, which might negatively affect a traditional mentoring relationship. This chapter defines and compares traditional mentoring with E-Mentoring. It discusses the benefits and challenges of using technology or computer-mediated communication (CMC) for mentoring purposes. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how organizations can implement E-Mentoring as a professional development tool in the age of technology.

This paper aims to describe the challenges and potential benefits of moving a mentoring programme for young people in care and care leavers to an online mode of delivery in response to the South African Government’s efforts to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus disease COVID-19.

A descriptive account incorporating reflections from staff responsible for the move to e-mentoring and from South African and UK researchers undertaking an exploratory study of mentoring vulnerable youth at the time when COVID-19 restrictions were imposed.

E-mentoring can provide an effective means to maintaining the essential elements of a well-established mentoring programme for young people in care and care leavers under government enforced “lock-down”. E-mentoring presents particular challenges and benefits in the South African context. Youth in care and care leavers have unequal access to a digital infrastructure, but this can be overcome by investment in resourcing, equipping and training carers, mentors and mentees. The geographical reach offered by online platforms gives young people access to a more diverse pool of mentors.

Both care leaving services and the use of e-mentoring to meet the needs of vulnerable young people are emerging areas of practice and research interest. This paper brings the two areas together in the context of South Africa under COVID-19 “lock-down” through describing the response of one mentoring programme and highlighting the benefits and challenges.

Purpose – This paper aims to advance the argument for the transformative potential of e‐mentoring for professional women. Design/methodology/approach – Existing mentoring and e‐mentoring models are evaluated as the context for the development of an innovative e‐mentoring programme for professional women in the UK (Empathy‐Edge). The European Union‐funded programme consisted of 122 participants who were matched by a combination of psychological profiling and analytical processing of these data to produce optimal matches. The e‐mentoring system employed a comprehensive range of resources and communication media which are often not included in similar systems. Findings – Initial evaluation data are presented. The benefits and challenges of e‐mentoring are analysed, together with initial recommendations for implementing effective schemes. Practical implications – The paper argues that e‐mentoring is a valuable tool for the career and management development of both returners and employed women who wish to break through the “glass ceiling”. It also indirectly improves their information and communications technologies (ICT) skills. Additionally, the paper demonstrates the strategic importance of psychological profiling for matching mentoring participants. Originality/value – The field of e‐mentoring is relatively new and is under‐researched, particularly from a European perspective. Combining insights from the fields of mentoring, gender in management, and computer‐mediated communication, Empathy‐Edge offers a new approach to career development for professional women.

This paper aims to describe NHS Wales' strategic intent to increase leadership capability through mentoring. The pressure on budgets and geography forced the adoption of a technology solution to reduce time away from the workplace and travel costs.

The design was based on the following: reflective questioning; Kolb learning design and double loop learning; mentoring competences to facilitate self‐assessment and personal development; blended use of face‐to‐face and technology devices; measurable impact on job; responsiveness to generational needs and social networking.

The evaluation studies by Strathclyde University Business School indicated the following key findings: more e‐mentoring should be available at all levels; gave opportunity for reflection despite pressures of work/life; increased skill sets; supported behavioural change and confidence; reduced time away from work and minimised travel; facilitated fluency with technology.

Although the model was based on traditional learning models, the use of technology in mentoring was not well researched. The author and team undertook proof of concept trials as a practical way of generating own research material.

The paper delivers improvements to patient care.

The e‐mentoring concept has received many awards for technology innovation and originality. NHS Wales is able to put a monetary value on the reduced cost of delivering e‐mentoring versus traditional. However, the real value is the increased skill sets for health care leaders/professionals and improvements to patient care.

This exploratory study aims to examine how online mentoring was provided through social media to support potential first‐generation Latino college students during their final year of high school and their transition into a two‐year or four‐year institution.

Using a one‐year qualitative study design, data were collected through interviews, surveys, and archived interactions on Facebook. Discourse analysis was used to code for types of social, informational, and emotional support provided.

Findings suggest that online mentoring through social media is a support system that the focal students turned to primarily for informational support, rather than for social or emotional support, and its impact seems to be contingent on the existence of conventional mentoring structures of high school counsellors, peers, and family.

High school counsellors and mentors in college outreach programs can leverage students’ presence in social media forums such as Facebook to help structure informational support (application deadlines, financial aid forms, contact information for college outreach) to help students prepare for and transition into college.

The visibility and amplification of information delivered through social media provides an untapped resource for assisting first‐generation college students in navigating the complex financial and logistical steps in transitioning to college. Its use as an additional tool for counsellors and mentors could increase matriculation and retention rates.

High school counsellors and directors of college outreach and mentoring programs could draw on findings in this paper when considering ways to integrate innovative approaches to providing mentoring support.

Social constructivism in teacher education highlights the importance of social interaction between preservice teachers (PTs) and their cooperating teachers (mentors) for effective mentoring. Mentoring relationship between PTs and mentors had to take a different path due to the pandemic when face-to-face education shifted to online education. The purpose of the present study was to explore online mentoring experience from the perspectives of PTs.

The methodology was qualitative. 35 randomly selected PTs were interviewed after the completion of an eight-week online school experience course. Data obtained from focus group interviews were analyzed using pattern coding.

Overall, the PTs mostly had a positive online mentoring experience. They reported receiving sufficient contextual and technological support when needed with limited professional support. However, they expected their mentors to allocate more time and their university supervisors (USs) to control practicum schools and to provide more online teaching samples and guidelines. They indicated that when they did not receive supports this was entirely due to the pandemic.

This research could inform USs and mentors who coordinate mentoring programs at schools and universities so that they might take an urgent step to restructure mentorship training, putting emphasis on the online aspect. Given the number of the participants, this research is limited in scope.

This research contributes to a body of research that investigates how online mentoring may be more effective. To create positive online mentoring relationships, following suggestions are provided to mentors: providing ongoing online support to PTs to overcome online mentoring challenges, spending an extra hour with PTs for reflection and making use of multiple contexts for PTs' professional ownership.

Women pursuing male-dominated careers face well-documented barriers to career success (e.g., stereotypes, sexual harassment, limited access to professional networks, and mentoring), which have the potential to be exacerbated or diminished by the increasing prevalence of work from home (WFH). In this chapter, the authors first review key career obstacles for women in male-dominated fields and analyse the impact of WFH on these barriers and, second, provide actionable strategies for organisations to implement WFH in a way that promotes rather than hampers the success of women in these fields. Both career obstacles and WFH remedies are considered through an overarching framework focussed on the significance of work–family boundary management, inclusion, and career advancement. Drawing on the extant research, the authors provide evidence-based, actionable guidance to help organisations and supervisors leverage WFH to support the career success of women in male-dominated careers.