The word 'mentor' may be as old as Greek myth, but it's only in the last ten years that it's had a serious impact on women and their careers - helping them climb the corporate ladder.

In November, Cranfield University's 2007 Female FTSE Report confirmed that the number of women in director and non-executive director roles has nearly doubled since 2000.   Two companies in the top five had identified coaching and mentoring as the key to moving women up the ranks.

Alessandra Alonso

Is this happening elsewhere? Do women need mentors? And does it really impact career progression and success? According to Alessandra Alonso, director of Shine People & Places, a business which brings coach/mentoring programmes into companies, it does.

"Where people are at the heart of the organisation, selling intellectual property, that's where mentoring prospers. Financial and professional services are key areas, and women respond particularly well to it because there is a relationship focus and it is a support structure."

In its most basic form, a mentor is a senior person in an organisation who acts as a sounding board to someone less senior. Mentors tend not to be the manager of the mentee, but someone within the wider department or business who can give detached and unbiased advice.

"Mentoring is completely adaptable to a person's own needs. As a mentee, you may want to be pushed, a confidence boost or just some time to reflect on your career. It's all about helping you realise your potential, whatever your goals are. The result is usually a more rounded individual and professional, someone who is confident about stepping up to the next challenge," confirms Alonso.

Mentoring happens informally in companies when employees take the initiative and approach senior managers directly about it, either because they identify with the person, aspire to their position or see them as a role model.

"Mentoring is about helping people realise their potential. It usually results in a more rounded individual and professional, someone who is confident about stepping up to the next challenge." Alessandra Alonso, Shine People & Places

That's been the experience of Rebecca Douglas, a former finance manager with Ernst & Young and British Airways. She became a mentee four years ago after joining BA. "I have always believed in taking responsibility for my own career progression and wasn't going to sit and wait for the elusive 'tap on the shoulder' for new opportunities.

"My mentor was a manager I'd developed a rapport with. I used her as a sounding board and for her contacts with senior management in the business. I saw it as a form of networking. She had also worked with me previously and knew my skills set, so she advised me on areas I needed to develop in order to achieve my goals."

Other businesses hire companies like Alonso's to develop a year-long programme for its staff. Shine People & Places trains the mentors, links them up with suitable mentees, and works with the organisation to ensure both get the most out of the programme.

This worked for Janice Edgar, a senior manager with KPMG for over 20 years. "Shine's matching process was so accurate. My mentee and I were incredibly similar, which lent itself to a role model link. We're still in touch." She grew in confidence and moved up two grades from assistant manager to senior manager within six months.

Another of Edgar's mentees used the time to overcome a fear. "She had to make an important phone call about her working future and was prone to getting very emotional about it. So we'd practise doing the call and every time she got emotional, I'd calm her down and ask why, and what she could have done differently. In the end, she was calm and collected and got what she wanted."

Whether the purpose of the relationship is career progression or a confidence boost, the most important element is trust. "The moment either side breaks the trust, the relationship ends," confirms Alonso.

Edgar agrees: "You can say anything to your mentor, even something you might think is silly, and all they'll do is say 'no, I think you should do this' rather than telling people what you've said. It has to be 100 per cent confidential."

"My mentor was a manager I'd developed a rapport with. I wasn't going to sit and wait for the elusive 'tap on the shoulder' for new opportunities." Rebecca Douglas, British Airways

Honesty is also essential. Like many mentees, Rebecca Douglas went on to mentor other employees. "I became a mentor because I know how difficult it can be making career choices and seeing the bigger picture. But it can be challenging. I feel I owe it to my mentees to be truthful and I don't pull any punches. At the end of the day, I support their decisions and do what I can to help them achieve their goals."

Although allocating time for mentoring is crucial (Shine advises at least one meeting every four to six weeks), some women do not have that luxury. As a stop gap, more mentoring options are popping up online. In September, businesswoman Fiona Price launched www.diva-biz.com , a members' website featuring video interviews each month with successful business women. "There's a community attached to all the videos so people can get into discussions and this can serve as peer-to-peer mentoring," Price says.

After decades, even centuries, of being around, mentoring is finally in the corporate spotlight, boasting benefits like employee development, empowerment and achievement.

"It's a triple win situation," concludes Alonso. "Mentors win because they are professionals with a lot of knowledge and expertise to give back. Businesses win because they retain talented employees by boosting communication and reducing perceived barriers or office politics. But, most of all, mentees win because they're tapping into this knowledge, finding out how to get to the next level and getting real direction for their future career."

Find out more about mentoring programmes from Shine People & Places by clicking onto shinepeopleandplaces.co.uk or calling 020 7378 3414.

For more information on Diva Biz visit  www.diva-biz.com where you can also view an exclusive interview with Coutts Chief Executive, Sarah Deaves.