The first asked, "Do you think it's okay to work for a company that competes with the company you worked for before business school?" 第一位女士问我：“你认为去公司的竞争对手那里工作合适吗？”

　　The second asked, "How can I get a mentor?" My heart sank. 第二位女士问的是：“我怎样才能找到自己的人生导师？”我心头一沉。

　　The men were focusing on how to manage a business and the women were focusing on how to manage a career. 男性关注的是怎样经营业务本身，而女性关注的则是怎样规划职业；

　　The men wanted answers and the women wanted permission and help. 男性想要答案，而女性则希望获得许可和帮助。

　　I realized that searching for a mentor has become the professional equivalent of waiting for Prince Charming. 我发现，关于导师的寻找对女性来说近乎于对白马王子的憧憬。

　　We all grew up on the fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty," which instructs young women that if they just wait for their prince to arrive, 我们都在《睡美人》的童话里长大，都坚信只需静候王子的到来，

　　they will be kissed and whisked away on a white horse to live happily ever after. 被王子吻醒后，就会坐上白马潇洒地离开，从此过上幸福快乐的生活。

　　Now young women are told that if they can just find the right mentor, 同理，现在的年轻女性也认为，只需要找到合适的导师，

　　they will be pushed up the ladder and whisked away to the corner office to live happily ever after. 就能“更上一层楼”，潇洒地成为女高管，从此过上幸福快乐的生活。

　　Once again, we are teaching women to be too dependent on others. 又来了，其实我们一直在教导女性过多地去依赖他人。

　　To be clear, the issue is not whether mentorship is important. It is. 明确地说，问题不在于人生导师是否重要。当然，导师肯定是重要的。

　　Mentorship and sponsorship are crucial for career progression. 导师也好，赞助者也好，对于职业发展来说都很关键。

　　Both men and women with sponsors are more likely to ask for stretch assignments and pay raises than their peers of the same gender without sponsors. 与没有赞助者的同性工作伙伴相比，拥有赞助者的男性和女性更有可能获得拓展性的工作以及升职加薪。

　　Unfortunately for women, men often have an easier time acquiring and maintaining these relationships. 遗憾的是，通常在寻找赞助者及维持此类关系方面，男性比女性要容易得多。