What is Organic Mentoring

Faculty members face many challenges, among them maintaining a healthy work-life balance, and although this need is not gendered (i.e., males who have sole custody of their child[ren], gay couples with children), in this chapter, the authors have chosen to focus on the challenges women faculty members in higher education face, particularly balancing their work and personal lives. In the examination of research studies and literature, the authors sought to address their research questions, which concerned which women's development theories might frame and explain women professors' academic identity, the recognition of unique pressures faced by women faculty members in their quest for tenure and promotion, and how these issues impact faculty members who are striving to balance personal and professional lives. Several recommendations for institutions of higher education are discussed, among them employing an ethic of care to design and implement supportive mentoring and other programs for women faculty members.