Undergraduate career mentoring: social mobility panacea or ethical dilemma?

Purpose Does mentoring enhance social mobility potential? With UK higher education (HE) regulators demanding more evidence-based funding decisions, this study explores how social diversity influences mentoring processes and outcomes for undergraduates on a HE career mentoring scheme. Design/methodology/approach This mixed-methodology case study uses quantitative surveys to compare mentee gains by socioeconomic status (SES) and explores mentoring influences via 12 semi-structured interviews with employer–alumni mentors and mentees. Findings Low-SES mentees secured more psychosocial and, at least, comparable career development gains but experienced more negative affect when feeling inferior during partial mentor identification. The themes of “outcomes”, “interaction” and “antecedents” reveal a multi-level mentoring system. Social diversity, via habitus, interacts with social structures to deliver low-SES mentee gains but diminishes career aspiration. Performance mastery supports prospective social mobility but does not overpower habitus. Conversely, this system raises high-SES mentee aspiration, creating ethical dilemmas. Research limitations/implications The quantitative results provide transferability and focus on prospective social mobility. Faulty feedback loops limit mentor outcome assessment. Practical implications The findings require systems thinking in scheme managers and the raising of participant class consciousness. Participant reflexivity, normalising emotion sharing and mentor scaffolding of mentee agency need fostering. Scheme design should be enhanced by mentee peer support and longer-term evaluation of outcomes. Originality/value This study is potentially the first for this scheme type to compare mentee outcomes by SES and explore SES influence. It refines mentoring conceptualisation around duration, power and effectiveness and encourages funding.