Mutuality in Sisterhood: Mentorships for Black Women

Mentorships have a profound and lasting impact in general, but for Black women they can potentially become something even stronger: a sisterhood. This was one of the topics covered during the Sisterhood Across Generations webinar, hosted last month by NBA’s Young Adult Leadership Development program. The event examined the sacred power of mentorship among Black women representing Gen Xers, Millenials, Gen Z’s, and Xennials.

“Because of the pandemic, we were really closed off from the world,” said Taphelyn Tapeh, the panelist representing the Gen Z generation. “Even though we might be in this outspoken generation where we want to be seen, it gets hard because we’ve moved into this online community, so that when it’s time to reach out to others, we don’t know how to do it. Sisterhood can be that bridge, a two-way street where somebody sees us, and also sees a bit of themselves in us.”

Panelists explored how Black women tend to show up differently for one another. Whether it’s one-on-one or in a group, these women see each other through the unique, shared experience of being Black and being a woman, and a bond forms providing encouragement, support, and even healing from trauma.

Through relationship building and development, mentorships can form that aren’t as transactional or hierarchal as a typical mentorship. For mentees they can look at their mentor and see who and where they want to be in their career journey, seeking encouragement and advice on how to grow as a leader. For mentors, they can see a young woman in a position that they once were, and work to help cultivate their mentee’s gifts in a way that allows the mentee to live into their own potential— not into a carbon copy of themselves.

The group also looked at what it means to be truly seen intergenerationally, and the challenges that come with that —due to tension between generations, different boundaries and expectations between one generation and the next, technology and social media, and unclear expectations of the relationships you’re entering. However, by being open to listening to and learning from one another, a successful partnership can be forged. “It’s really affirming to know that you’re being watched,” said Tapeh. “People are still looking at you and how you operate in your life. And you can still learn something from them, too.”

This webinar is the first of a series of panels on mentorship NBA will be hosting within different cultural contexts. Stay tuned to NBA’s newsletter and socials to learn more about future installments in the series!

If you would like to watch the webinar recording you can do so by clicking here.