In Sarajevo, within the sixth cycle of the Women Mentoring Network (WMN), the event “Connecting Generations: Mentorship as a Bridge to Women’s Leadership” was held, bringing together programme participants from across Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Women Mentoring Network is an initiative launched in 2019 by Deloitte and Addiko Bank, in partnership with UNDP and in cooperation with numerous other organisations, with the aim of connecting young women from across Bosnia and Herzegovina with experienced women leaders through mentorship, knowledge exchange, and professional networking. Over the past five cycles, the programme has brought together hundreds of women and built a strong network of intergenerational support and professional collaboration.

Dialogue focused on mentorship as a tool for women’s empowerment and strengthening intergenerational solidarity. It was highlighted that over the years the programme has grown beyond a traditional mentoring framework and evolved into a network connecting women from different sectors and experiences across Bosnia and Herzegovina, with an emphasis on trust, knowledge sharing, and long-term supportive relationships.

Mentorship was presented as a two-way process in which both mentors and mentees learn, exchange experiences, and jointly strengthen their professional and personal capacities. This approach contributes to building confidence, expanding access to opportunities, and advancing women’s leadership.

Within a presentation grounded in UNDP research, discussions addressed the structural drivers of gender inequality, including social norms, misogyny, gender stereotypes, self-stereotypes, and internalised misogyny, as well as how these patterns are reproduced through institutions and systems. It was emphasised that inequalities are also reinforced through everyday social practices and continue not to translate into equal opportunities for women, despite their high levels of education.

It was concluded that mentorship plays a broader role beyond professional development, as it opens space for critical reflection, empowerment, and the questioning of existing patterns of inequality through safe spaces for exchange and support.

The discussion further highlighted the role of mentorship in developing transformative women’s leadership and the importance of intergenerational support in an environment where women continue to face structural barriers to career advancement and decision-making.

The programme runs for six months and includes individual mentoring, training sessions, and networking events, with a focus on developing leadership, communication, public speaking, financial literacy, and professional skills.

This activity is supported under the Joint Programme “Gender Equality Accelerator,” implemented by UN Women, UNDP, UNFPA, and UNICEF, with financial support from the European Union and the governments of Denmark and Sweden, in cooperation with the Agency for Gender Equality of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Centre for Gender Equality and Equity of Republika Srpska, and the Gender Centre of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.