Sponsorship Eats Mentoring for Breakfast (When It Comes to Women’s Careers)
“Here’s an uncomfortable truth: advice doesn’t open doors.
Advocacy does.”
Mentoring is valuable.
It absolutely has its place.
A good mentor can help you think things through, build confidence, sense-check decisions, and reflect on what you want next. For many women, mentoring conversations are the first time someone has properly listened to them at work.
But mentoring alone does not change careers.
Sponsorship does.
And the difference between the two is one of the biggest reasons women end up exhausted, frustrated, and questioning themselves, even when they are highly capable and experienced.
The Women in the Workplace 2025 report makes this painfully clear. Employees who have sponsors are nearly twice as likely to have been promoted in the last two years compared to those who don’t. Not 10% more likely. Not marginally. Nearly twice as likely.
That’s not a soft advantage.
That’s structural power at work.
And yet women are far less likely than men to have:
a sponsor at all
a sponsor in senior leadership
more than one sponsor
At entry level, only 31% of women report having a sponsor, compared to 45% of men. That gap appears early and it compounds over time.
So what actually is sponsorship?
A sponsor is not someone who gives you advice in private.
A sponsor is someone who:
speaks your name in rooms you’re not in
puts you forward for stretch roles
advocates for you when promotions are discussed
takes reputational risk on your behalf
Mentors talk with you.
Sponsors talk about you - positively - when it matters.
Without sponsorship, women are left to bridge the gap themselves. They’re encouraged to:
self-advocate more
be more visible
“lean in”
showcase their achievements
build a personal brand
On the surface, that sounds empowering.
In reality, it places the burden entirely on the individual woman.
So women compensate by:
over preparing
over delivering
saying yes more than they should
managing perceptions carefully
working harder just to be seen as equal
That’s not empowerment.
That’s survival.
And it’s exhausting.
Many women I work with aren’t short on capability or ambition. What they’re short on is air cover. They’re doing alone what others are quietly supported to do collectively.
Over time, that takes a toll.
Burnout doesn’t always come from too much work.
It often comes from too much self-advocacy, too much proving, and too much pushing without backing.
This is also why telling women to “just be more confident” misses the point entirely.
Confidence doesn’t get you promoted if no one is advocating for you.
Visibility doesn’t help if decisions are already shaped behind closed doors (or on the golf course - yeah, that still happens. Oh, you didn't even know? Why would you - you're not there!).
Hard work alone doesn’t overcome a lack of sponsorship.
If you’re a woman who feels like you’re constantly pushing for recognition, the issue probably isn’t effort.
It’s access.
And if you’re someone in a position of influence - as a senior leader, executive, or decision-maker - there’s an uncomfortable question worth sitting with.
Not:
“Do I support women?”
But:
“Who am I actively backing when decisions are made?”
Because support without advocacy doesn’t move careers.
And intention without action doesn’t change outcomes.
If organisations are serious about retaining women, preventing burnout, and closing progression gaps, sponsorship can’t be left to chance or goodwill. It has to be visible, intentional, and shared (not something women are quietly expected to earn through over performance).
And for women themselves, this is not about asking for favours or feeling uncomfortable. It’s about understanding how power actually moves and refusing to keep paying the personal cost of pretending that advice alone is enough.
Because it isn’t.
If you’re reading this and recognising yourself... tired of pushing, tired of explaining, tired of doing it all on your own... this is the kind of work I support women with in my 1:1 coaching.
Not to make you “try harder” or fix yourself,
but to help you navigate power, visibility, and leadership without burning yourself out.
From January 2026, I’m opening up space for five new 1:1 coaching clients.
This work is for women who are:
capable, experienced, and quietly carrying a lot
questioning what progression really looks like for them now
ready to lead and decide in a way that’s sustainable, not self-sacrificing
There’s no pressure and no pitch.
If you’d like to explore whether this support would be useful for you, you can get in touch for a conversation - [email protected]
Sometimes the most powerful shift isn’t more advice, it’s having someone properly in your corner.
