L-R: Antonia Willis, ICC Belfast, alongside mentee Ciara Turkington, St Dominics School, Laurel Gray, ICC Belfast, and her mentee Kate Thompson, St Genevieves High School and Lisa Black, ICC Belfast, with her mentee Rebecca James, Ashfield Girls' High School.
SistersIN, the all-female leadership programme designed to inspire and support schoolgirls, has doubled in size year on year, experiencing a fivefold increase from 2022 to 2025. This year, over 50 schools are participating in the programme.
Bringing together leadership training in schools with mentorship from senior female leaders across Northern Ireland, SistersIN provides invaluable guidance, insight, and inspiration to young women.
In 2024, 698 girls have been matched with female mentors. As part of the programme, all participants completed a work shadowing day at their mentor’s workplace throughout the first week of March, ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March.
Gillian McKeown, Director of Operations and Growth, SistersIN said,
“SistersIN goes far beyond just spending time in someone’s place of work: it’s about early-stage professional development and real-world role-modelling. It combines structured leadership training with a truly unique mentor-matching programme and culminates in a project delivered in their school or local community under their mentor’s guidance.
“Last year, many of our mentors were at a senior level in their organisation, meaning the participating pupils were spending time with highly successful and inspiring female role models – who live, work and lead here. This is so important for girls at this stage of school life, when they’ll be making decisions to shape the future direction of their lives. We’re really grateful to all the magnificent female leaders who give their time and enthusiasm to make SistersIN such a powerful and valuable initiative.”
SistersIN grew from a pilot in 2019 and was officially launched in 2022 with founding partners Assumption Grammar School, ICC Belfast | Waterfront Hall | Ulster Hall, Danske Bank, Education Authority, James Kane Foundation and Queen’s University Belfast.
This year’s participants will receive mentorship from global and local firms including Gilbert Ash, Danske Bank, Almac, MCS Group, Thales, BT Group, NIE Networks, KPMG, Encirc, Baker McKenzie, Concentrix, plus many more.
Three female leaders from ICC Belfast, Laurel Gray, Head of Events, Lisa Black, Event Manager, and Antonia Willis, Business Development Manager, are also taking part on the Mentoring Programme, providing students with valuable insights into the professional world and first-hand experience in planning and managing large-scale events.
Rob McConnell, Chief Executive, ICC Belfast, Waterfront and Ulster Hall said,
“As a founding partner of SistersIN, we are proud to support this groundbreaking initiative, which plays a vital role in mentoring and developing young girls in Northern Ireland. This year, we are delighted to have three mentors taking part and sharing insights into the world of business events.
“Any female colleagues who have taken part in previous years have been blown away by the intelligence, insight, and drive of the girls who they have been matched with. It’s really refreshing for them to play their part in shaping the future of so many young women as they embark on their career journeys."
The keynote speaker at the finale event on 7 April at ICC Belfast, will be Jayne Brady, Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service.
Jayne made history in September 2021 when she became the first female and external appointee to the role in its 100-year history. Speaking ahead of the event, she said,
“The growth of SistersIN has been incredible in such a short time. We know that many mentors were initially motivated to get involved so they could give back to the next generation and support gender diversity.
However, once they have been SistersIN mentors, they have got so much more out of it personally, they’ve become passionate supporters of the initiative, and I think that’s why it’s growing year on year. We are all invested in seeing the next generation of girls thriving and becoming future leaders. I’m looking forward to the event on 7 April as I know the energy on the day is going to be inspiring.”
For more information visit: sisters-in.org for more information.