The mentoring award was established in 1990 to honor an SWS member who is an outstanding feminist mentor. In establishing the award, SWS recognized that feminist mentoring is an important and concrete way to encourage feminist scholarship.

Manisha Desai is the Head of Sociology and Professor of Sociology and Asian and Asian American Studies at the University of Connecticut. Her research and teaching interests include Gender and Globalization, Transnational Feminisms, Human Rights movements, and Contemporary Indian Society.

Many of Manisha Desai’s mentees expressed how inspiring Manisha has been, her students described her as "passionate feminist mentor", In the words of Chriss Sneed, “Often, her mentorship reaches beyond office hours and yet, Dr.Desai graciously makes room for more inquisitive minds. I can only hope that I will be able to provide one fourth of the passionate mentorship that Dr. Desai offers her students.”