Having a mentor certainly isn't a new idea, but it is an important factor. A few people mentioned the value of male versus female mentors. One person said, ``You have to have a male mentor - mostly because there aren't many female ones around to wait for. I was lucky to have had two excellent male mentors. They made sure I survived, and they shared their network with me.''
A number of professors said they want their own mentor, not necessarily female, who understands the biases that exist and could help them find creative ways to deal with situations.
A few women pointed to their parents or their mothers as having mentored them: ``My parents were both medical-school professors. I had role models to follow.''