An important assumption in the vast majority of the mentoring literature is that a protégé will have one mentor at a given time. To the best of my knowledge, no research has focused on multiple co-occurring mentorships, though some consider past history of mentorships. Recent findings from the social psychological literature have shown the benefits of multiple, specialized relationships in comparison with fewer, generalized relationships, suggesting that the mentoring literature could benefit from a network approach. Network approaches have considered individuals’ work advice networks, and future research may consider the characteristics and outcomes of mentor network configurations. Research on diversified relationships clearly suggests that there are pros and cons to both homogenous and heterogenous pairings. That is, a same-sex (or similar in some other attribute) mentor may offer unique support and greater role modeling due to greater similarity, but may be less able to help advance one’s career. An opposite-sex or higher status mentor may help one’s career, but may involve different challenges, less similarity, and less intimacy. A minority-group mentor may promote empathy or challenge one’s existing stereotypes or schemas. An organization is wise to consider that different mentors will offer different benefits, and if possible, provide protégés access to multiple mentors. 
	Mentoring has long been seen as an important mechanism for facilitating career success, especially for under-represented groups of workers. Mentoring has numerous benefits for both mentors and protégés in terms of both subjective and objective career outcomes. However, not all mentoring relationships are equal. Evidence suggests that formal mentoring relationships are often less successful, as informal relationships are more likely to be formed on the basis of deep-level similarity, the best predictor of mentor relationship quality. As facilitating the career success of minority workers is often a primary aim of formal mentoring programs, it is important to consider how power asymmetry may affect relationships, and consider evidence-based approaches when designing programs. Having access to a dominant group member mentor may allow a minority protégé greater access to resources, but may be associated with less psychosocial support and lower perceived similarity and role modeling. In cross-sex pairings, the benefits of having access to a male mentor may be especially strong in male-dominated contexts, where a male mentor may help their protégé navigate barriers and be an especially strong signal to decision-makers. A direction for future research should be to understand mentoring as a dynamic process that changes over time in terms of the quality and provisions of a given relationship and a network in which one has multiple mentors that they may turn to for different functions.
