The Women in PR Mentoring Programme was set up in 2014 as a joint initiative with PRWeek UK to identify, nurture and inspire the next generation of female leaders. We are proud that, since its inception, the scheme has supported more than 100 ambitious women from a range of backgrounds, and with an array of career goals and challenges, to achieve their individual goals.
Women can face different challenges to men as they step up the PR career ladder, whether they are working in-house, in an agency or as a freelance practitioner. These include navigating a boardroom often dominated by men, negotiating equal pay or juggling work and family or caring responsibilities.
Our scheme ensures that women can confidently and successfully overcome their unique challenges in order to progress in their careers to achieve their ultimate ambitions. We do this by matching candidates with women who are operating in very senior positions within the UK PR industry.
Our Mentors
The mentoring line-up is refreshed every year to maintain a brilliant, motivated and diverse cohort of industry leaders, both female and male, keen to give back to the industry and support future female leaders. The diverse backgrounds and experiences of our mentors allow us to support the very broad range of needs from our mentees
The Impact
Graduates from the mentoring programme have gone on to secure top level positions in the industry. There is a great community of mentoring scheme alumni and the feedback we receive regarding the impact on individual careers is fantastic. For more information you can read many of their success stories on our blog and social channels. We are also thrilled that several of our mentees have since returned to give back, becoming mentors themselves.
Programme details
The mentoring programme lasts for 12 months and involves at least six full mentoring sessions plus ad-hoc discretionary support.
The programme is open to female practitioners of public relations with 5 or more years’ experience and/or are working at middle-management or director level or equivalent, who can demonstrate;
- Five years industry experience with leadership potential (demonstrable experience to date and signs of being a leader of the future).
- Clarity of career objectives and how access to a mentor will help get you there, including overcoming perceived obstacles.
- Industry engagement with demonstrable effort to engage in key issues and effect change – for example, being an active member of a trade body, or helping/driving new initiatives to help improve our industry.
- Commitment to actively engage in this highly sought-after programme and to drive the scheduling of mentoring sessions.
Record mentor numbers expands opportunities for future talent in Women in PR’s flagship scheme
applications now open
Search now begins to match 28 talented mentees with a record number of senior talent from across the PR industry for the 2026-2027 Women in PR Mentoring programme
15 June 2026: Today, Women in PR (WiPR), in partnership with PR Week with support from and Opinium, opens applications for 28 mentees in its flagship mentoring programme which aims to help female communications professionals tackle barriers to reaching senior leadership positions.
Following a competitive recruitment process fourteen exceptional mentors from a range of agency and in-house backgrounds from across the UK have been selected to join fourteen returning mentors to make up one of the largest mentoring cohorts since the programme first started in 2014. With a strong focus on diverse representation, the volunteer mentors have committed to a minimum of six one-to-one sessions with mentees over the twelve-month programme beginning in September.
The scheme offers opportunities for connection both in-person and online, alongside additional coaching and engagement opportunities for participating mentees and mentors throughout the year. It aims to empower mentees to tackle key challenges women still face in the workplace – from breaking barriers to promotion to helping build new mindsets and capabilities, overcoming professional challenges to building confidence in their own leadership.
Thanks to generous sponsorship from 72Point, all mentees will receive access to Clifton Strengths analysis and coaching on how to use the tool, which helps to identify an individual’s natural talents and offers guidance on how to develop them into key leadership strengths.
To apply to become a mentee on the Women in PR programme, applicants must have a minimum of five years of experience in the PR or Communications industry and be a UK resident. Prior membership to WIPR is not required and applicants from diverse backgrounds and across the UK are encouraged to apply.
Applicants can apply by filling out the online form explaining their career goals and how they will benefit from the programme by 23:59 on Monday 27 July.
Ginny Paton, Women in PR President said: “We were blown away by the calibre and quantity of interested mentors this year which has been really heartening to see. It is clear more support is needed now than ever, as early and mid-level talent is facing a tumultuous and tough job market. And it’s not just junior talent struggling in the current job market. We continue to see senior women leaving and/or losing executive level positions in the industry. We are thrilled to be able to expand the programme to bring the many benefits of mentoring support to more of our industry’s brightest talent.”
Katie Earlam, MD, 72Point and mentoring programme sponsors said: “We’re proud to support Women in PR and a programme that helps more talented women build the confidence, connections and support they need to progress. Giving back to the next generation of industry talent is vital, and we’re delighted to play a part.”
Anikka Weerasighe, Co-Lead, Women in PR Mentoring Programme said, “We are thrilled to see industry leaders across PR and communications – both male and female – stepping up to give back to this next generation of leaders through our mentoring programme. Past participants have reported success navigating challenging, complex situations, achieving promotions, new and expanded roles and additional outside of work responsibilities – attributed in part to the guidance they received from our mentors. We can’t wait to see who will get to benefit as part of our 2026-2027 cohort.”
Hear from several of the participating mentors about why this is something they care deeply about:
Laura Burch, Founder of Work & Class said, “Long before I was angry about class inequality in our industry, I was angry about gender inequality. And I’m still livid about it. We continue to see persistent gender pay gaps, women overlooked for senior leadership roles, and too many talented women – especially those who face additional barriers such as class, ethnicity and
disability – questioning whether this industry is built for them to succeed in. So it’s an absolute honour to be selected as one of the Women in PR mentors this year. I’m really looking forward to supporting a brilliant younger woman in the industry, helping her navigate any barriers she might be facing, and doing my small bit to help dismantle the PR patriarchy along the way.”
Amna Ali, Women in PR Social Co-Lead and Independent PR Consultant MENA and UK said, “True inclusivity isn’t just a corporate metric, it is the absolute bedrock of creative and impactful storytelling. Having delivered campaigns and various initiatives across vastly different cultural landscapes, I’ve seen firsthand that success hinges on nuanced local relevance. When we champion diverse voices within PR and Marcomms, we don’t just build better campaigns-we build deeper, more authentic human connections that transcend borders.”
“My career has been shaped and is owed in most part to the women who have worked with me. The leaders who pushed me, the clients who trust me, the colleagues who became friends who supported me, still to this day and the artists, pop-stars and influencers who have fed my creative hunger. I am fortunate to know some of our industries most tenacious and creative women and I hope my participation in this years mentoring scheme allows me to pay off a small part of the debt I owe those people. Let’s go.” says Steve Strickland, Executive Creative Director, One Green Bean.
Mentors for the 2026-2027 programme including both returning* and new mentors:
- Amna Ali, Strategic Comms Freelancer (MENA) and WiPR Committee Social lead
- Chris Allen, Executive Director, Sport & Entertainment at The Romans*
- Rosie Bannister, ex Axicom Global COO
- Tas Bhanji, Director of Communications at the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)
- Laura Birch, Founder, Work & Class
- Clara Biu, Head of Consumer Communications, Allwyn UK*
- Kym Bradbury, Communications Director, IKEA UK&I
- Sam Brown, Creative Director, Freelance
- Bianca Cavuoto, Founder and Managing Director, Nineteen82
- Lauren Gillen, UK Managing Director, We. Communications*
- Claire Haddrill, Managing Partner, Ogilvy PR
- Sera Holland, Independent Consultant, The Reputation Atelier
- Effie Kanyua, Founder, We Are Warriors PR & LILA Assistant*
- Lee’ann Kaufman, CEO and Founder, iseepr*
- Sophia Lahey, Regional PR Manager, Europe at Qatar Airways
- Kirsty Leighton, Founder and Group CEO, Milk & Honey PR*
- Emily Luscombe, Partner and EMEA communications agency lead, ERM*
- Shayoni Lynn, Founder, Lynn*
- Doyel Maitra, Corporate Affairs Director, Head of Campaigns, Content and Channels, NatWest*
- Charlotte McCarthy, Director of Client Services at Broadcast Revolution and Women in PR Committee Member
- Helen Mills, Vice President, Global Head of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Mars Petcare*
- Miranda Mitchell, Managing Director, Praytell UK, Folgate Advisor, NED
- Orla Moran, Managing Director, Consumer & Brand, Burson*
- Jenny Mowat, CEO, Babel PR*
- Natalie Neave, Partner, Tin Man
- Lauren Pogson, Head of Communications, Evri*
- Vishnee Sauntoo, Freelance Practitioner, and ‘The Comms Collective’ Podcast host*
- Steve Strickland, ECD, One Green Bean, (Co-founder, Talker Tailor Trouble Maker)
