We’re bringing the Women Wise Mentoring cohort together for a mid-programme in-person event: an evening to connect, share experiences, and be inspired.

You’ll hear from an engaging panel of women in the industry, take part in a lively Q&A, and enjoy plenty of time to network and get to know each other.

Arrivals between 5:30 and 6:00, with food and drinks, followed by a keynote and panel discussion with Q&A, then time to network and connect.

📍 Location: Floor 17, 5 Aldermanbury Square, EC2Y 5BL
📅 Date: Tuesday, 23 September 2025
🕒 Time: 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM

Our WomenWise Mentoring cohort came together at Artefact, co-hosted by Kalina Tomova and Louise Frémy for a keynote and panel event with four incredible voices:

✨ Claire Roberts (née Smith) - Transformational Change leader and Inclusive AI advocate
✨ Harriet Minter: Leadership expert and executive coach
✨ Peta Cornish, PCC Coach: Communications & confidence coach
✨ Aditi Chetty, Senior Data Scientist (and mentor in our cohort)

It was honest, practical, and full of strategies you could take into work the next day.

Here are just a few of the takeaways:
🧠 Psychological safety is essential if we want organisations where people can actually thrive. And it’s not about everyone being endlessly ‘nice’ or ‘kind’. True psychological safety shows up when teams feel able to challenge each other openly - without fear of backlash or consequences

🧠 Stop letting the negative evidence in your head win. Start collecting positive proof of the brilliant things you can do instead

🧠 Nominate someone to amplify your voice in the room in meetings - for example, if you share an idea, they can back you with: “Yes, that’s such a good idea (Harriet), I love that.”

🧠 Double down on the parts of your role you enjoy and tell people that's what you enjoy doing - they'll remember you for it, and you'll get to do more of that

🧠 BREATHE! We hold so much stress in our bodies, sometimes we need to somatically release that through a calming breath exercise (which we all did last night and it was brilliant)

🧠 The most powerful shifts don’t come from grand gestures, but from small conversations and tiny changes in habit that change the way you see yourself

🧠 Tools change fast, but skills like curiosity, adaptability, and critical thinking hold their value

The energy in the room was brilliant... empowering, practical, and different to anything we’ve done before.

A huge thank you to Claire, Harriet, Peta, and Aditi for bringing so much wisdom (and a few live exercises!) to the evening - and to every mentor and mentee for coming along.

This programme is proof that mentoring isn’t just about individual progress- it’s about lifting together.

As part of the Women Wise Mentoring Programme, we’re bringing together all mentees for an interactive training on Generative AI: designed to spark ideas, build skills, and show you what’s possible with today’s AI tools.

This session will cover:

• The basics of AI and how it works

• Key tools available, including ChatGPT and other popular platforms

• Best practices to get accurate, useful results

• Real-world examples to inspire your own use cases

It’s also a chance to explore new possibilities, ask questions, and leave with practical tips you can apply right away.

As part of the WomenWise Mentoring Programme, we’re bringing together all mentors for a dedicated session focused on sharing experiences, strategies, and support.

This session will cover:

• Practical tools and frameworks to guide effective mentoring

• Approaches to handling sensitive or challenging conversations

• Peer exchange of best practices and real-world examples

It’s also a chance to connect with fellow mentors from the wider cohort, share what’s working, and strengthen our collective impact.

Yesterday, we hosted our first mentee webinar for this cohort.... a moment to reflect, share what’s working, and gather insights to shape the next phase of the programme.

Here’s what’s standing out:
🔑 Great mentees aren’t the ones with a five-year plan. They’re the ones who show up curious, open, and intentional - ready to explore ideas, reflect, and take action.

🧠 Challenges are real... from imposter syndrome and vague goals, to diary clashes and the pressure to “get it right.” But with support, structure and a space to think out loud, mentees are already and making real progress.

💬 The right questions help to unlock clarity and direction:
🔹 “What were your goals when you were at the same stage in your career as I am now?”
🔹 “From your experience, do you think I should become a software generalist, or hone down into a particular area/technology?”
🔹 “What are the transferable and soft skills I can develop to progress in my career?”

💡 A few standout reflections from mentees:
“I realised confidence is a barrier 0 and I’m learning how to work through it.”
“My mentor helped me break a big goal into small, achievable steps.”
“We talked about how to make clever and strategic career moves - and that changed the way I think about my next step.”

✨ This is what WomenWise Mentoring is about:
Creating space for reflection.
Encouraging brave questions.
And helping women make confident, strategic moves in industries where the path isn’t always clear.

💡 The WomenWise Mentoring Programme 2025 is officially in motion 🚀

Over warm croissants and even warmer conversation, we brought together this year's cohort for a breakfast launch!!

We opened with one simple Slido question: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

The responses were brilliant:
🧠 “The time will pass anyway - do it.”
🧠 “Never compare your beginning with someone’s middle.”
🧠 “You don’t need to know it all - just go for it.”
🧠 “Take up space.”
🧠 “Your network is your net worth.”

The beauty of this programme is that it brings together people who might never otherwise meet - from different companies, cultures, roles, and stages in their careers - and gives them a space to have the conversations that don’t usually happen in a Zoom meeting or an office.

And judging by the energy in the room, it’s already working:
🗣 “It was great to kick off by connecting on a human level - not just job titles and roles.”
🗣 “So inspiring to meet people from different backgrounds who’ve had similar experiences.”
🗣 “I felt genuinely empowered just hearing other people’s stories.”

Massive thank you to our partners at Artefact, and to Francesca Platì, Louise Frémy, and Hester Ho for helping us create a launch that felt thoughtful, generous, and full of intent.

To this year’s cohort: we’re just getting started!! 🚀