Gender equality is not a future goal; it is a responsibility today. That is the belief behind the Scholarship, Mentoring & Leadership Academy (SMLA) Committee, established in line with Soroptimist International Europe’s mission to transform the lives and status of women and girls. Our vision is straightforward: every woman should have the opportunity, the confidence and the support to lead, in her profession, her club or her wider community.
Three pillars, none designed to stand alone
We work towards that vision through three pillars, and none of them was designed to stand alone. Scholarships remove the first, and often the greatest, barrier to a woman’s progress by opening doors to education and professional advancement. Mentoring then carries that opportunity further, pairing women with experienced Soroptimists who offer guidance, honest feedback and the kind of support that builds lasting confidence. The Leadership Academy takes this a step further still, giving women practical leadership skills, an international network, and the platform to put both to use.
Take any one pillar away, and the other two lose much of their purpose: a scholarship without mentoring rarely becomes sustained growth, and leadership training without a network behind it rarely turns into lasting influence.
The pathway in numbers
The connection between the three is not theoretical. In 2026, around 70 women who had taken part in Leadership Academies in Croatia and Slovenia, Greece, Finland, Bulgaria and Costa del Sol went on to join dedicated mentoring programmes, while a first cohort of former scholarship recipients began a mentoring track designed specifically for alumnae.
Beyond these Academies, Soroptimist International Europe supports women through a much broader system. Between 2021 and 2026, our Federation awarded 144 scholarships—137 SIE Scholarships and 7 Susanne Noël Scholarships—while our network of more than 400 mentors across Europe continues to grow, ensuring that women at different stages of their journey can rely on experienced guidance and long‑term support. And this represents only part of our work: similar programmes run across many Unions and Single Clubs, meaning that the true scale of support for women within our Federation is significantly greater.
Reaching beyond the individual
The benefit of this pathway extends well beyond the women who take part in it. Every scholarship awarded, every mentoring pair matched and every Academy hosted strengthens collaboration within and between clubs and Unions and raises the visibility of our work at Federation level. For many outside our movement – universities, partner organisations, and women encountering Soroptimist for the very first time through a scholarship application or a Leadership Academy – this pathway is often their clearest introduction to what Soroptimist International Europe stands for.
Mentoring, in particular, has also proved a valuable way to retain and engage our own members, giving experienced Soroptimists a meaningful role in developing the next generation while drawing younger women closer to the organisation.
A lasting cycle of leadership
Perhaps most importantly, this pathway creates a lasting cycle of leadership. A woman who receives a scholarship today may become a mentee tomorrow, a mentor in the years ahead and, ultimately, a Leadership Academy facilitator, committee member or Soroptimist leader herself. Today’s beneficiaries become tomorrow’s role models, ensuring that knowledge, experience and opportunity continue to pass from one generation of women to the next.
Scholarship opens the door, mentoring keeps women moving through it, and the Leadership Academy shows them what is possible once they are through. Taken together, the three pillars do more than support individual careers: they represent Soroptimist International Europe in action, strengthen our clubs, build a stronger pipeline of future leaders, and help ensure that our organisation continues to grow from within.
By the Scholarship, Mentoring and Leadership Academy Committee