Network and mentoring programme
Elevate your future career in a supportive community of future change-makers
Female economists remain under-represented in positions of power, public policy and decision-making. We want to change that.
Despite women forming about a third of the overall economics student population, female economists continue to be a minority in senior and executive positions, boards and committees.
Our Women in Economics programme supports you throughout your degree to help you develop the skills, connections and experience you need to excel in the industry after you graduate.
The future is female
The programme aims to address the issue of under-representation of women in economics by connecting you with successful, experienced, female economists who can offer careers support and industry insights, and who will help you raise your future aspirations.
University of Portsmouth: Women in Economics Mentoring Programme
Female economists remain under-represented in positions of power, public policy and decision-making. We want to change that.
Despite women forming about a third of the overall economics student population, female economists continue to be a minority in senior and executive positions, boards and committees.
Our Women in Economics programme supports you throughout your degree to help you develop the skills, connections and experience you need to excel in the industry after you graduate.
Hear from mentees who have participated in the programme to discover their own experiences and how the programme has helped them excel in their own graduate career path.
I think the biggest challenge that women face in finance and economics is being underestimated.
Economics is always seen as a very hard topic that requires a high level of intelligence.
As a woman, it's quite hard to have your voice heard.
You're almost at a loss sometimes when you are up against men who are going for the same job as you.
It's a really difficult process, applying for jobs.
You don't have that experience.
So for me, looking into a job without a mentor,
I didn't really know where to start.
Mentorship programmes are fantastic.
Not just for mentees but also for mentors.
I think it's a great way for both parties to learn and develop.
Having a mentor was like having a therapist.
Having someone that you can go to to ask for advice,
I think it's really valuable.
My mentor supported me in anything that I needed.
So not only academically, but when I was going for roles, we did mock interviews together.
We ran through a presentation together and she was just basically a support system who had gone through the process and everything she gave me I used to the best of my ability.
A mentor and mentee relationship, when it's successful, is great.
Being a mentor for Claudia was fantastic.
There was a lot that I learnt from the relationship as well, and we've developed a good friendship coming out of that mentoring relationship.
The reason why I wanted to have a mentor was because I thought it would be a great opportunity to actually speak to someone who has been through the same struggles as mine.
I learnt so much from her experience, the struggles that she faced before and she's still facing, I could relate to that.
It was just good to see that she achieved so much.
It was really, truly inspiring, actually.
Having a mentor is a great way to develop your career, to learn new skills and to network.
If anyone is thinking about getting a mentor, I strongly advise it.
There's a lot of value that it will bring both to you and to your mentor.
I think it's definitely filled me with a lot more confidence.
It pushed me to get on with finding a job and figuring out what I wanted to do, and I don't think I would have done that so soon if I hadn't have joined the programme.
Supporting you
With 1-1 support from a successful female mentor, and a growing community of economics graduates and students, you'll tailor your experience to suit your goals.
On the programme you'll access:
- Career guidance and support — From reviewing your CV to advice in the lead up to an assessment centre or interview, our mentors can offer real-world experience of what it takes to stand-out as a graduate.
- Real-world industry insights — Understand the reality behind the role from graduates who have successfully scaled careers in a variety of industries and leading companies.
- Increased confidence and connections — Meet our friendly and welcoming mentors, who will show that making connections in the industry doesn’t have to be a daunting experience. They can also offer guidance and direction in how to make effective introductions to give you the confidence to extend your own networks in your chosen industry.
- Opportunities to build your own support network — Joining the programme gives you access to an exclusive community of current graduates and students for peer support during your studies and beyond.
Explore Dr Alberti's workWith my colleague Robert Gausden, I have established within the 'Women in Economics Network' as a mentoring platform for young female economists.
Women in Economics Mentoring Programme - Student experience with Claudia
Hear Claudia's experience as a mentee on the Women in Economics Mentoring Programme.
Claudia participated in our pilot series of the programme and shares how having a mentor during her final year at the University of Portsmouth had a positive impact on her journey.
My name is Claudia Colella and my course is Finance, Master's.
I think the biggest challenge that women face in the world of finance and economics is being underestimated.
The industry is so competitive and it's a very male dominated industry as well.
So I think as a woman, it's quite hard to have your voice heard.
You're almost at a loss sometimes when you are up against other men who are going through the same job as you.
Having a mentor was like having a therapist.
Just being able to, like, talk with someone that understood was really very helpful.
And I left all the meetings feeling so motivated.
I think it's definitely filled me with a lot more confidence and I feel like that's really beneficial to me for going for interviews.
It pushed me to get on with finding a job and figuring out what I wanted to do, and I don't think I would have done that so soon if I hadn't of joined the programme.
Being part of the mentor programme, we're always going to have contact with each other and just having more networking events and trying to help each other even more would be really beneficial and be really good to be part of the change.
Women in Economics Mentoring Programme - Student experience with Lauren
Hear Lauren's experience as a mentee on the Women in Economics Mentoring Programme.
Lauren participated in our pilot series of the programme and shares how having a mentor during her final year at the University of Portsmouth had a positive impact on her journey.
My name's Lauren Burke and I study MSc Economics, Finance and Banking here at the University of Portsmouth.
The most challenging thing about finding a job is you don't have that experience.
So for me, looking into a job without a mentor, I just didn't really know where to start.
I didn't know the process, I didn't know how to kind of excel and what employers are actually looking for within a candidate so that you're successful.
My mentor supported me in anything that I needed her for.
So not only academically, but when I was going for roles.
We did mock interviews together, we ran through a presentation together and she was just basically a support system who'd gone through the process and everything she gave me I used to the best of my ability.
My confidence in applying for roles is tenfold to how it was before.
I actually believe in what I can do and having someone who's basically told you
"You can do this, you know how to do it, you've just got to do it." It's been fantastic.
And like, I've secured a role now and I don't think I would've been able to do it without her help.
Stereotypically economics is kind of like a male dominated subject, and I think the narrative is changing and I think that's the most important part thing moving forward.
After being a mentee as part of this programme, I have put myself forward to be a mentor, to kind of give back to the programme and be able to help as many people in their journey as I can.
Women in Economics Mentoring Programme - Student experience with Oumaima
Hear Oumaima's experience as a mentee on the Women in Economics Mentoring Programme.
Oumaima participated in our pilot series of the programme and shares how having a mentor during her final year at the University of Portsmouth had a positive impact on her journey.
My name is my Maima and I'm currently doing MSc in Economics, Finance and Banking.
One of the biggest challenges that women actually face in the economics sector is that economics is always seen as a very hard topic that requires a high level of intelligence, and often women are seen as not enough to be able to make decisions in such an industry.
As a woman, it's a really difficult process applying for jobs.
The reason why I wanted to have a mentor was because I thought it would be a great opportunity to actually speak to someone who's been through the same struggles as mine.
I learnt so much from her experience, the struggles that she faced before and she's still facing.
I could relate to that and it was just good to see that she achieved so much.
It was really, truly inspiring, actually.
I would say that joining a programme such as Women in Economics is the best decision you could do for your degree because, as women, we don't like to show weakness because we're already feeling weak enough.
So having someone to relate to, having someone to guide you and advise you is really supportive and it actually helps you to get through all those struggles.