The Real Door to Career Advancement Isn’t Just Mentorship, It’s Sponsorship
Let’s get honest. For many Black women and women of colour, the idea that “hard work speaks for itself” is a myth wrapped in exhaustion. Despite being overqualified, underpaid and structurally overlooked, they continue to be left out of informal networks, high-stakes conversations and leadership succession planning.
The data is clear. While studies show Black women pursue higher education at higher rates, this rarely translates into proportional representation in the C-suite, access to capital, stock ownership or affordable insurance. Why? Because they’re often mentored but not sponsored. Mentorship gives advice. Sponsorship opens doors.
In her powerful new book "The Doors You Can Open," Rosalind Chow breaks down the harsh truth. Sponsorship is riskier than mentorship and most organisations avoid it because it requires vulnerability, status and real commitment. But if Black women are ever going to close the leadership and wealth gap, they must be intentionally sponsored, not just coached on how to survive exclusion.
Here are 5 trends we can’t ignore, especially if we want to change the trajectory for Black women and women of colour in leadership:
Black and women of colour are significantly less likely to be sponsored, especially in majority-white leadership structures. According to McKinsey & LeanIn’s Women in the Workplace 2023 report, only 9% of women of colour say they have a sponsor, compared to 19% of white men. Black women, in particular, are less likely to receive career-advancing advocacy. Dr. Ella L. Washington (Georgetown University) notes that without sponsorship, “Black women are left to navigate their careers unsupported in rooms where decisions are made without them.”
They carry disproportionate levels of student debt and slow advancement delays financial independence.The Brookings Institution reports that Black women graduate with an average of $37,558 in student loan debt, more than any other demographic. Due to lower starting salaries and fewer promotion opportunities, repayment is slower, compounding interest and preventing wealth accumulation. As Dr. Fenaba Addo (UNC–Chapel Hill) highlights, “Student debt for Black women is not just a burden, it’s a systemic barrier to economic mobility.”
Pay inequity and stalled promotions block access to wealth-building tools like home ownership, investment and insurance. The 2023 State of Black Women in Corporate America by LeanIn shows that Black women earn 66 cents for every dollar earned by white men, even in comparable roles. This income gap leads to reduced access to mortgages, lower pension contributions and limited investment portfolios. According to Tsedale M. Melaku (CUNY), “When women of colour are locked out of capital, they’re locked out of legacy.”
Sponsors often choose protégés who look like them. Affinity bias still drives many decisions. Research by Dr. Stefanie K. Johnson (Inclusify) shows that executives are more likely to sponsor individuals with shared race, gender,and educational background, perpetuating exclusive pipelines to leadership. This "mirror-tocracy" fuels racial homogeneity at the top and leaves diverse talent overlooked, no matter how qualified.
Corporate DEI is increasingly under political attack and leaders like President Trump and Elon Musk are discrediting its legitimacy. A 2024 McKinsey briefing warned that anti-DEI rhetoric is causing fear-driven retractions of diversity initiatives, particularly in tech and finance. Elon Musk’s public denouncement of DEI as “discriminatory” and the rollback of affirmative action have emboldened companies to quietly cut budgets and remove accountability measures. Dr. Joan C. Williams (UC Hastings) warns, “DEI without power or protection becomes branding, not equity.”
So what can YOU do?
Build multiplex relationships, expand beyond “friendly at work” to include career conversations and trusted collaboration.
Activate “good gossip”, talk positively about others when they’re not in the room. This changes how they are seen without them having to self-promote.
Identify people of status, not just power, those who are respected and trusted across the organisation, even if they don’t hold the highest title.
Ask for what you need clearly “Would you feel comfortable endorsing me for this opportunity?”
Create your sponsor radar, who champions others publicly? Who invests in rising talent? Position yourself within their orbit.
What should organisations stop doing?
Stop launching mentorship programmes with launch parties and no follow-up.
Stop relying on mentorship when sponsorship is the missing piece.
Stop copying DEI statements without allocating actual resources.
Stop confusing visibility with inclusion.
And what should they start doing?
Start training leaders on sponsorship, what it is, how to do it and why it matters.
Build high-touch programmes that invest time in trust, not just titles.
Measure sponsorship impact as part of succession planning and retention, not as charity or tokenism.
Sadly, if powerful organisations like Meta and Amazon, with access to the world’s best data, talent and technology, still struggle to create equitable workplaces and often fall short on true inclusion, what hope is there for women of colour to thrive without intentional sponsorship, structural support and leadership that truly listens?
This isn’t just about getting in the room, it’s about having someone at the table who will speak your name when opportunity calls.
Let’s be clear, you can’t rise in silence. You can’t network passively and you can’t rely on mentorship alone in a system that was never built with you in mind.
Sponsorship is the game-changer. It’s time we learned the rules and wrote some new ones.
If this post resonated with you, take a moment to reflect, are you being truly sponsored, or just mentored? What would meaningful, long-term sponsorship look like in your career journey?
Share your thoughts in the comments and let’s move the conversation beyond “just work harder” to something more strategic, inclusive and empowering. Like this post if you believe it’s time to change the rules and share it with someone who deserves to be seen, supported and sponsored.
