Pivotal moments in mentorship: using arts-based reflective practice to explore the impact of mentorship on women in higher education

Mentoring programs have been identified as a way of advancing women’s career opportunities in many organisations, including higher education, by assigning a mentor who provides known measures of success to develop the knowledge and confidence of their mentee. The Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE) has instigated programs that aim to provide mentorship to support leadership opportunities and develop confidence in mentees. An arts-based reflective practice methodology is used in this collaborative autoethnographic study to examine the experiences of five women in academia who each engaged and connected with each other in the ASCILITECommunity Mentoring and Women in Academic Leadership programs. The results showed mentoring provided opportunities for mentees to develop academic identity and the positive influence of mentoring in fostering women’s leadership opportunities in academia. The paper additionally confirms that digital technology mediated practices can facilitate connections and long-lasting relationships between mentees and mentors.