Mentorship Matters February 2025: Reflecting on Black History Month
Every February, Canada celebrates Black History Month in recognition of the significant contributions that Black Canadians have made to the country’s history, culture, and society. In this context, it is important to acknowledge that the Black community continues to be underrepresented in academia. In the DoM self-identification survey conducted in 2021, 2.3% of faculty responders self-identified as Black, which indicates underrepresentation as compared to the 4.3% of Black individuals reported in the Canadian census. While we still have a long road ahead to increase diversity in academia, celebrating every culture and fostering an environment where we respect and learn from each other, irrespective of our background, can directly impact quality of mentorship, especially when it comes to underrepresented faculty.
The benefits of mentorship for underrepresented faculty are well-described and include increased retention, improved career advancement and research productivity, and enhanced leadership development. However, mentors should exercise culturally sensitive guidance, addressing their own implicit biases. Yes folks, we all have our own implicit bias and self-reflection is an important tool to mitigate its impact on our mentorship relationships!
As we celebrate Black history, we should not only uplift and recognize the great achievements of the Black community, but take a moment to circle back to our own actions as mentors and mentees, and truly reflect on the actions we can take to provide appropriate mentorship to underrepresented faculty.
The illustration below is from a beautiful kids colouring book authored by Kalenea Johnson who has worked with me as an administrative assistant for many years: "You Can Be Anything!: A Colouring Book to Inspire Your Dreams." Kalenea wrote that her book “encourages creativity and self-love while showing children of colour that they can achieve anything they set their minds to.”
May the future of academic medicine be full of diverse colours, each equally respected and nourished with mentorship that truly encourages them to excel in their own way. And may that not become just words.
Caroline K Kramer, Faculty Lead Mentorship, Culture and Inclusion Portfolio
Are you interested in brainstorming ideas relevant to our mentorship program? Would you like to join a mentorship committee?
Send me an e-mail: caroline.kramer@sinaihealth.ca
