  Same-race mentorship preference refers to mentors or mentees forming
connections significantly influenced by a shared race. Although racial
diversity in science has been well-studied and linked to favorable outcomes,
the extent and effects of same-race mentorship preferences remain largely
underexplored. Here, we analyze 465,355 mentor-mentee pairs from more than 60
research areas over the last 70 years to investigate the effect of same-race
mentorship preferences on mentees' academic performance and survival. We use
causal inference and statistical matching to measure same-race mentorship
preferences while accounting for racial demographic variations across
institutions, time periods, and research fields. Our findings reveal a
pervasive same-race mentorship propensity across races, fields, and
universities of varying research intensity. We observe an increase in same-race
mentorship propensity over the years, further reinforced inter-generationally
within a mentorship lineage. This propensity is more pronounced for minorities
(Asians, Blacks, and Hispanics). Our results reveal that mentees under the
supervision of mentors with high same-race propensity experience significantly
lower productivity, impact, and collaboration reach during and after training,
ultimately leading to a 27.6% reduced likelihood of remaining in academia. In
contrast, a mentorship approach devoid of racial propensity appears to offer
the best prospects for academic performance and persistence. These findings
underscore the importance of mentorship diversity for academic success and shed
light on factors contributing to minority underrepresentation in science.
