Organizations have invested heavily in mentoring and leadership development for women. Progress has been made, yet representation at senior levels continues to lag. The missing ingredient is often not guidance but advocacy.

Research from Catalyst draws a sharp distinction among the roles that support career growth. A role model demonstrates what is possible. A coach helps build skills. A mentor offers advice and perspective. A sponsor, however, uses influence to create opportunity. A sponsor speaks about you in rooms you are not in, recommends you for high visibility assignments, and ties their reputation to your potential.

All four roles matter. But when the goal is accelerating gender equity, sponsorship carries unique power.

Why Mentorship Alone Is Not Enough

Mentoring plays a vital role in leadership development. It strengthens confidence, clarifies career direction, and builds competence. Yet mentoring does not automatically translate into advancement. Many women receive abundant advice but limited access to stretch roles or influential networks. They are well prepared yet not fully championed.

For women from marginalized racial and ethnic groups, the gap is even wider. Access to informal networks and powerful advocates often determines who is considered for promotion. Without sponsorship, high performing talent can remain overlooked.

Sponsorship changes that dynamic. It moves beyond development into visibility and opportunity. It shifts from guidance to active endorsement. When senior leaders sponsor women across the organization, they expand access to decision makers, critical assignments, and strategic conversations that shape careers.

The impact extends beyond the individual. Sponsors gain broader insight by advocating for talent whose experiences differ from their own. Organizations strengthen their leadership pipeline and signal that advancement is tied to potential and performance rather than proximity to power.

Creating this kind of culture requires intention. Three actions are essential.

1. Define Scope and Success Clearly

Sponsorship cannot be an informal afterthought if the goal is measurable progress. Organizations must decide who the program is designed to support and what outcomes they expect to see.

Start by identifying high performing talent, including individuals who may not fit traditional leadership molds. Look intentionally at women across functions and levels, and pay close attention to women from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. Equity requires examining who has historically been excluded from informal sponsorship networks.

Sponsors should understand that their role goes beyond offering advice. They are expected to recommend protégés for stretch roles, introduce them to influential contacts, and publicly endorse their readiness for advancement. This level of advocacy requires commitment.

Program leaders should determine the size of sponsorship cohorts, the duration of partnerships, and the training needed to prepare both sponsors and protégés. Success metrics must be defined at the outset. These may include promotions, expanded responsibilities, cross functional assignments, or participation in high visibility initiatives.

When sponsorship efforts are properly resourced and evaluated, they become a strategic lever rather than a symbolic gesture.

2. Build the Conditions That Make Sponsorship Work

Effective sponsorship rests on a foundation of trust and inclusion. Without psychological safety, neither party will engage fully.

Trust is essential because sponsors place their credibility on the line when they advocate for someone. Protégés must feel safe sharing their ambitions and areas for growth. Both sides need confidence that the relationship is grounded in mutual respect.

Honesty strengthens this trust. Protégés should communicate their aspirations clearly, including the roles they seek and the experiences they need. Sponsors must provide candid feedback about readiness, gaps, and opportunities.

Consistent communication ensures alignment. Sponsorship is not a single recommendation. It is an ongoing dialogue about strategy, performance, and positioning.

Commitment sustains momentum. Both individuals must invest time and energy in making the relationship meaningful. When sponsors and protégés recognize that each benefits from the other’s success, the partnership becomes reciprocal rather than transactional.

These relationship qualities flourish in inclusive cultures. Senior leadership support, transparent promotion processes, and accountability mechanisms all reinforce the effectiveness of sponsorship efforts.

3. Adopt an Intersectional Sponsorship Mindset

Sponsorship that accelerates gender equity must also account for differences within gender. Women do not experience the workplace in identical ways. Race, ethnicity, and other aspects of identity shape access to opportunity and exposure to bias.

For individuals seeking sponsorship, clarity is critical. Strong performance lays the foundation, but clarity about career direction enables sponsors to advocate effectively. Role models, coaches, and mentors can help refine goals. Sponsors then help accelerate them by opening doors and endorsing readiness.

For leaders in a position to sponsor others, sponsoring across difference is essential. This requires awareness of how your own experiences influence your assumptions about talent and potential. It calls for curiosity about barriers others may face and a willingness to learn how those barriers affect career progression.

When sponsors intentionally advocate for women whose backgrounds and experiences differ from their own, they disrupt patterns of similarity bias. They expand who is seen as leadership material.

Elevating Talent to New Heights

Careers are shaped by more than individual effort. They are influenced by who notices that effort and who speaks on its behalf. Sponsorship ensures that capability is matched with opportunity.

By clearly defining goals, reinforcing the behaviors that make sponsorship effective, and embracing an intersectional approach, organizations can move beyond symbolic commitments to measurable progress. In doing so, they not only accelerate gender equity but also strengthen the quality and diversity of leadership across the enterprise.

Sponsorship does more than help individuals advance. It reshapes systems so that more women can rise, contribute at the highest levels, and fully realize their potential.