Statistics on Mentorship: The Latest Research on Employee Development

The corporate world is rife with buzzwords. Terms like "co-working," "innovation," and "mentorship" are commonplace in boardrooms and meeting rooms the world over as businesses try to stay ahead of the curve. But what do these words actually mean? And what is their significance for the modern workplace?

Mentoring, in its simplest form, is the act of transferring knowledge and experience from one person to another. It is a relationship in which the mentor shares their expertise and provides guidance to the mentee, with the aim of helping them grow and develop professionally.

The benefits of mentoring are manifold, and mentored employees are generally more productive, engaged, and satisfied with their jobs.

But you shouldn't simply take our word for it – and thanks to a number of recent studies, you don't have to. Research has repeatedly shown that mentorship programs provide a number of tangible benefits to both the mentor and the mentee.

Let's explore some of the most compelling statistics on mentorship.‍

🧑🔬Ready to go from the theory to practice when it comes to mentorship? We’ve put together all our most actionable advice in the mentorship superpack. Grab your copy to get instant access to everything you need to learn about, plan, and even launch a mentorship program.

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Mentorship plays a critical role in employee development

In the modern workplace, mentorship plays an integral role in employee development. Most of the time, however, mentorship happens unintentionally; many companies don't have a formal program in place, but still participate in mentorship informally. In fact, nearly half of both mentors and mentees say their relationships were formed naturally.

For example – when you are taking on a new role within an unfamiliar department, who shows you the ropes? If you are looking to learn a new company process, who helps you get up to speed? In most cases, it will be a more experienced colleague or manager who is taking time out of their day to help you. This is an informal mentorship relationship.

Mentorship happens across most disciplines; in fact, many of the successful people we look to as role models point to their own mentor as a key contributor to their success.

If companies want to take a more formal approach, they can develop programs that connect employees together.

If you're not quite convinced, however, we'll explore some key statistics on the value of mentorship below.

Quick mentorship statistics you need to know

Mentorship isn't just a buzzword — it’s become table stakes in the majority of today’s successful companies. In fact, The Times reported that 97.5 percent of Fortune 500 companies have mentorship programs in place.

In other words, successful businesses prioritize mentorship – and for good reason. However, only 37 percent of employees have mentors currently, so there's still plenty of room for growth.

It's time for more companies to jump on board, as there are countless proven benefits to mentorship programs. For instance:

• 75 percent of executives credit their success to mentors.
• 90 percent of employees with career mentors are happy at work.
• Employees who participate in mentorship programs are 49 percent less likely to leave a company.
• Companies that invest more in mentorship programs see more employees engage with learning, a higher rate of promotions overall, and a higher rate of promotions to leadership positions, according to LinkedIn’s research.  
• 83 percent of Gen Z employees say a workplace mentor is crucial to their career, but only 52 percent report having a mentor.

Does your organization prioritize mentorship? Even if you’re part of the majority that already has some sort of program in place, these mentoring stats might inspire you to take a closer look at how you’re publicizing your program to make sure all employees are aware of its existence and know how to get involved. ‍

Mentoring statistics to help you design your company mentorship program

Here at Together, we conducted a study of HR and L&D professionals in addition to combing through anonymized usage data from our mentorship platform. Here are a few highlights of our findings:

• Leadership development is the top priority for HR and L&D survey respondents in 2025.
• Our survey respondents predict that a lack of growth opportunities will be the leading cause of turnover in 2025.
• 78 percent of HR and L&D professionals think employees will be at the same or higher risk of burnout in 2025 due to factors such as higher workloads, unclear or unrealistic expectations, and change fatigue.
• Learning events and workshops (67 percent) and mentorship programs (66 percent) are the top choices for social learning in 2025.

Want to explore our findings in more detail? You can download a copy of our report here.

An overview of mentorship research: How do employees benefit from mentorship?

There have been some excellent studies conducted on the benefits of mentorship and mentorship programs, and the results speak volumes.

Study 1: University Mentorship Program

In 2019, a study was conducted and published in the International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education. Junior and senior university students were paired together in a mentor-mentee relationship, the aim being to test whether mentees experienced better job search self-efficacy and a greater sense of community.

Unsurprisingly, mentees saw a significant increase in job search self-efficacy after participating in the program. Not only that, but they gained a more realistic view about the workplace and their potential career options, and received important psychosocial support from their mentor.

Study 2: Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Harvard University, and the U.S. Department of Treasury

In 2025, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBSA) released a study on the impact of mentoring on shaping the educational, economic, and social trajectories of participants. The research conducted by Harvard University and the U.S. Department of Treasury—based on 30 years of data—revealed the following outcomes:

• Participants experienced a 15 percent boost in earnings between the ages of 20 and 25, reflecting enhanced economic mobility.
• The income of mentored youth as adults was more closely aligned with the income of their mentor than their family, helping to reduce the socioeconomic gap by two-thirds.

“Investing in mentorship programs like Big Brothers Big Sisters contributes to a more skilled and competitive workforce and adds value to local economies. This research reinforces our commitment to expanding access to quality mentoring relationships that can help every young person reach their full potential,” said Artis Stevens, President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

Study 3: Reverse mentoring in the NHS 

In 2022, researchers from the University of Sheffield in the UK published a study on the effects of reverse mentoring (where a more junior employee mentors someone in a more senior role). They discovered:

• Reverse mentoring gave younger employees more confidence in their skills and ability to provide feedback to senior leadership.
• All mentors and mentees reported a good or excellent experience and believed that feedback was important both prior to and after the study.
• Common themes highlighted included the benefit of a different perspective to the norm and new ideas which can be implemented.

These are just three of many studies that have been conducted into the effectiveness of mentoring and mentorship programs. Consistently, results show that mentors and mentees benefit from their pairing, and mentorship programs improve the outcomes of said pairings.‍

How many mentors should an employee have?

While the traditional mentor-mentee ratio is 1:1, there's no specific rule stating that employees need only one mentor. In fact, many experts believe that employees can benefit from having multiple mentors. That's because each mentor can offer a different perspective and approach to development.

For example, one study into the mentorship status of female college presidents found that over 50 percent of the surveyed presidents had been mentored by multiple people. This result is echoed by a number of other studies and papers, such as those by Professor Catherine A. Hansman.

Another fascinating study revealed the effectiveness of something referred to as a 'mentorship network', in which mentees source the help of multiple mentors depending on the stage of development they are at. 

And it's not just scholarly observation that points to the benefits of multiple mentors; 70 percent of employees themselves actively desire multiple mentors, pointing to an intrinsic need for variety and different perspectives in development.

Does gender in mentorship matter?

When it comes to having a mentor of the same gender, this tends to be more common among men — 82 percent of men say they have a male mentor but less that 70 percent of women say they have a female mentor. It’s worth noting that this discrepancy is likely largely due to the lack of women in senior leadership roles, which we’ll look at in more detail shortly.

Factors like gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation appear to matter and mentoring relationships tend to be more successful when the mentor and mentee are in similar diversity groups. According to our research, 41 percent of employees from diversity groups think it’s important or very important to have a mentor who comes from the same group as them. 

When mentors and mentees share the same background, they are able to relate to one another better and feel more comfortable opening up about their experiences and challenges. Many companies start diversity and inclusion mentoring programs for this reason.

The respondents believed that, while the quality of the partnership was undoubtedly important, the opportunity to have a mentor – regardless of gender – provided additional benefits.

It's important to note that despite these studies, we must be careful not to make assumptions about what employees want or need. Every individual is different and therefore, what might work for one mentee won’t necessarily work for another. 

This is why many mentoring programs use a matching algorithm that considers the skills, experiences, and preferences of employees. More often than not a mentor-matching software is better suited to match employees than an administrator.

What research on mentoring shows about the impact of mentorship on women

There’s a significant gender gap in the workplace and it’s especially prominent at the senior leadership level. While nearly 50 percent of entry-level roles are held by women, this number drops to 25 percent at the C-suite and as low as 12 percent for STEM roles according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report. 

And while mentorship and other career development programs have the potential to increase the number of women in leadership roles, Lean In and McKinsey found that fewer companies are offering career development, mentorship, and sponsorship programs geared towards women. For example, while 45 percent of formal mentorship programs focused on women in 2017, that number had dropped to 37 percent in 2024. The same report indicates that offering mentorship programs with content designed for women and women of color is still an emerging practice that’s been adopted by less than 30 percent of organizations.

However, McKinsey also refers to mentorship as a “differentiator policy.” This means it’s more prevalent in organizations that have higher female representation in leadership roles than others. These differentiator companies are focused on getting more women into leadership roles and retaining the women leaders they already have — and they’re often doing so through mentorship and sponsorship programs.

There are documented cases of how this can play out:

• Citi set a goal to have 40 percent women at the assistant vice president to managing director levels by 2021 and surpassed this goal through a combination of inclusive hiring practices, training sessions, and mentorship programs. 
• Intuit created the Intuit Again program for tech workers who have taken a career break (most of whom are women). By providing training and mentorship, they’ve created a reliable pipeline for talent — nearly 70 percent of Intuit Again participants have been hired full-time by Intuit.

The best mentors have common qualities

How do you select the best mentors? Which qualities define a good mentor? Research on this topic shows us that similarities between the mentor and mentee — especially in terms of shared values, beliefs, and attitudes — lead to high-quality mentoring relationships.

Dr. Ruth Gotian, an author who specializes in workplace success, outlined the six traits of exceptional mentors in Forbes. They include:

• Chemistry between the mentor and mentee
• Real-world experience and a perspective on the field the mentee wants to learn about
• Empathy and genuine interest in the mentee
• Patience and the ability to set realistic expectations
• Honesty and the ability to deliver constructive feedback with kindness
• The ability to inspire and spark motivation in their mentee

Here on the Together blog, we’ve also published an article on the key qualities that are essential for a great mentor: 

• They should be passionate and enthusiastic about helping others;
• Their communication should be open, honest, and effective;
• They guide mentees to the right answers, rather than simply telling them;
• They recognize and acknowledge the mutual value of the mentoring relationship;
• They are forthcoming with feedback and advice; and
• They ask the right questions.

A poorly run mentoring program is worse than none at all

With all of the positive research around mentorship programs, businesses are jumping on board to create and manage their own mentorship programs left, right, and center. This is a good thing – mentorship is a powerful development tool. 

However, if your business decides to start a mentorship program without doing its research, the consequences can be dire.

The study, “Is a bad mentor better than no mentor?” published in the International Journal of Learning and Change explored this topic. The authors identified eight types of negative mentoring experiences, including: 

• A mismatch between the mentor and mentee
• Manipulative behavior when the mentor uses their position to control or exploit the mentee
• Neglectful behavior, where the mentor is unavailable or offers minimal support
• Betrayal, where the mentor breaks the mentee’s trust or confidentiality

The authors of the study conclude that while having a mentor is usually associated with positive benefits like a higher salary, the quality of the mentoring relationship has the potential to impact a mentee’s job satisfaction. It’s a good reminder that vetting and carefully selecting your mentors is critical to your mentorship program’s success.

The best way to start a mentoring program

So, what can we learn from the statistics explored here? Let's briefly recap the key points:

• Mentor-mentee programs don't have to be arranged; in fact, more than half of mentorships happen naturally.
• Mentorship programs help to facilitate matching mentors and mentees with similar interests, which results in a more beneficial experience for both parties.
• Most people agree that mentorship is a valuable experience, but the vast majority of employees have not had a mentor.
• Mentorship programs lead to improved outcomes for both the individual and their employer.
• Mentees can have multiple mentors, and mentors do not need to be of the same gender; however, it helps if the mentor is from the same functional area or diversity group.
• The best mentors share common characteristics, such as being able to develop relationships, having a listening ear, and being able to offer constructive feedback.

With these points in mind, it may be time to consider implementing a mentorship program in your workplace. 

The best way to get started is by surveying employees to see if there is interest in the program and identifying individuals who would make great mentors. After that, the mentorship program software we offer at Together is an excellent way to get your program up and running.

With the right planning and execution, a mentorship program can be an extremely valuable experience for both mentors and mentees alike – so be sure to take a look at our best practices for mentorship and launch a program with real potential.

Want to see how Together can help you create a thriving mentorship program? Book a demo to learn more!