Understanding how diversity training impacts faculty mentors’ awareness and behavior

What is it about?

The purpose of this paper is to explore how a mentor training intervention affected research scientists’ perceptions of diversity and their subsequent behaviors. Using analysis of interviews with 135 faculty mentors who participated in a research mentor training intervention, participant voices illuminate how content is interpreted and acted on, information that is greatly lacking in diversity intervention research.

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Why is it important?

Much has been published on whether diversity training has an impact on participants, but very little on how, either within the context of mentoring or more broadly. This analysis begins to fill that gap by looking at how faculty perceive diversity and internalize training content on the topic. This exploratory study provides unique insights into these phenomena. Implications for mentoring relationships, mentor training initiatives, and efforts to address diversity are discussed.