The current work examines the effects of status on diverse relationships in a changing world of work. This framework relies upon the notion that mentorship itself implies a status differential: organizationally assigned positions of mentor and protege. Moreover, individuals in mentoring dyads can have additional status inequalities based on ascribed status associated with demographic characteristics. This intersection of positional and ascribed status effects is predicted to interfere with mentoring dynamics to prevent some dyads from functioning at their full potential. Further, the current work proposes that the organization may mitigate the effects of status on diversified dyads. That is, the demography of the workplace in which mentoring dyads are embedded may alter the effects of status differentials. In a survey distributed among employees at various organizations across the United States, 179 racially diverse, male and female mentors and proteges reported their experiences in a recent mentorship, their attitudes and demographics, and the demographics of their workplaces. Using a 3 (status alignment) x 2 (workplace demography) research design, this dissertation found that status and context did have effects on the outcomes of mentoring dyads, however the direction of these results were not as expected. Implications of the results and limitations to the current study are discussed.
