2026: The year of mentorship

When was the last time you looked around your board room and truly felt represented?

Whether from a gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability perspective amongst other protected characteristics; often, organisations are not giving credence to the benefits that come from diverse representation in the workplace.

Despite all the targets and commitments that organisations have outlined in recent years, figures from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology highlight that in the tech sector, underrepresentation still exists.

So, what's not resonating?

Well, there is no doubt that there will have been some damage caused by the major DEI rollback that we saw take place in the US in early 2025. And while, in the UK, we never saw such policy changes, politically, we are seeing some shift in attitudes towards diversity – specifically related to immigration and gender equality. Of late, we have also seen threats of the UK Equality Act being reversed by a specific political party should it enter into power in the coming years.

But with potential political change coming to Scotland in 2026, more than ever, it is vital that we raise our voices louder than ever to ensure we don't, as a country, lose sight of the value that diversity brings.

Enacting change

It is said that change starts with you. To me, that means considering who we are talking to, who we are educating and who we are championing. Because when individuals are equipped with the skills and also have the knowledge and aspirations to do more, then they will.

That starts with mentoring.

It is one of the powerful activities to enact change; inspiring and empowering individuals to see a route forward in their professional careers as well as giving them a champion who wants to see them succeed. 

Across International Women's Day (IWD) this year - whether you look at the United Nation's focus on 'Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls' or the broader IWD theme of #givetogain - action is what stands out. 

But when it comes to mentoring, which can drive change, so many don't feel worthy of it, know how to approach it, or may even consider themselves not to be in a position of experience to become a mentor in the first place.

However, one of the things that rings true to me on an annual basis is that mentorship exists in various guises; it is just important that we review and potentially pivot how we approach the concept.

Embedding the foundations

To launch a successful mentoring programme, it is important for organisations to recognise the transition from informal advice-sharing to a structured framework which aligns with the goals of a business.

This starts with establishing your "why" – what do you want to achieve with the programme?

It is also important at this point to consider the structure mentoring will take – and setting it up in a way that aligns with your company's culture; whether it's one-to-one, peer-to-peer, or reverse mentoring. As part of this, organisations must be ready to train participants, so they know what to expect as being a part of the programme – whether they are a mentor or mentee.

Finally, given the time investment involved in creating a successful programme, organisations cannot just "match and move on". Like any professional programme, there should be a level of reporting in the way of KPIs in areas like retention and promotion rates. Pulse surveys can also be a great way to monitor engagement and publicly celebrate success stories to turn the programme from a checkbox activity to competitive advantage.

Think scalability

Once you have started to build some momentum and seen the green roots of success with your programme, it is time to think about scale. Just as much as mentoring can exist in different guises, it can exist in different locations to reach more people. I have seen superb programmes grow between countries and follow individuals as they progress in their careers.

Changing the format to group mentoring or chain mentoring (whereby individuals become a mentor themselves to those just behind them professionally) can be a couple of routes for organisations to continue to build their programmes. 

However you look to scale the programme, given the voluntary nature of mentoring, its impact comes back to stability and effectiveness which often comes back to the passionate few who keep it moving. As part of this, it is important that recognition is given for not only the time, but energy that this group of champions dedicated to the programme so they maintain that passion to support their colleagues and peers. 

Look to your allies

Finally, when it comes to championing women in the tech sector – or in business for that matter – mentoring shouldn't be defined by gender. 

Each year, I see more and more male allies turning the volume up on the voices of their female peers. As such, we shouldn't see mentors as having to be a mirror image of ourselves. Experience and networks vary from person to person and the role of a mentor is all about being an advisor who allows someone to grow personally and professionally. Gender shouldn't be a barrier. 

Mentorship is fundamentally a two-way street, and by embracing it more individuals can find the confidence to approach high-level leaders as potential guides. The benefits go beyond that of the mentee and should reverse mentoring be embraced then a mentor can gain as much fresh insight and modern expertise as the mentee.

So, this IWD, let's embrace action; because we could further equality in the workplace in spades.