The Ethics, Values, and Embodied Practices of Feminist Mentoring in Graduate school: An Intergenerational Framework

Asha Lalanie Abeyasekera

doi:10.1177/09593535251398026

The Ethics, Values, and Embodied Practices of Feminist Mentoring in Graduate school: An Intergenerational Framework

Asha Lalanie Abeyasekera

Sociology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Drawing on in-depth interviews with four first-generation women academics representing four generations of feminist scholars on their experiences of feminist mentoring in graduate school, I present a conceptual framework of core feminist ethics and values – the ethic of care, commitment to collectives and collaboration, practising reciprocity and hospitality, and acknowledging emotions – that distinguish feminist mentoring from traditional supervision, and highlights the transformative role feminist mentoring plays in addressing intersectional inequalities of doctoral students from the Global North and South. The four models of feminist mentoring that emerge – friendship, no-nonsense nurturing, academic mother and caring professional – illustrate feminist mentoring as an embodied practice that challenges the neoliberal work ethic of productivity
and professionalism. The focus on intergenerational mentoring stories from the
1970s to the 2010s opens a window into the past illuminating why women from socially marginalised groups credit feminist mentoring for their success in the academy.

Original language	English
Number of pages	22
Journal	Feminism and Psychology
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/09593535251398026
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 1 Dec 2025

Keywords

feminist mentoring
graduate school
neoliberal university
PhD supervision
feminist ethic of care
intersectional inequalities

Access to Document

10.1177/09593535251398026

Cite this

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