2025 Mentorship Program: Our Most Global and Engaged Cohort Yet
This year, the joint Women in WASH and RWSN Mentorship Programs reached a new milestone, welcoming 488 participants from 81 countries – the largest and most diverse cohort since the program’s launch in 2019! Women represented 62% of all participants, reinforcing our shared commitment to advancing women’s leadership and gender balance within the WASH sector.
The 2025 edition, delivered in partnership with World Vision and the Global Water Center, featured three learning-focused tracks:
- Women in WASH Program – dedicated to women and women-identifying participants, offering both traditional and near-peer mentoring formats.
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RWSN Career Progression Program – open to all water professionals seeking to advance their careers.
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Solar Powered Water Systems (SPWS) Program – focused on solar pumping and renewable energy applications in WASH.
Key Achievements
1. Record Participation
Participants joined the program through a mentoring platform (PushFar) that allowed mentors and mentees to self-select their match for better alignment, an improvement from previous years that participants consistently appreciated. In addition, automatic matching was carried out to support participants who preferred or required that option.
2. Strong Engagement
Out of the 488 registered participants, 160 completed the final survey, offering rich insights into their mentoring experience. Engagement remained strong:
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Roughly 33% held six or more meetings,
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41% met three to five times, and
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47% rated their match as excellent, with another 40% rating it good.
Many participants highlighted increased clarity in career direction, improved networking skills, and renewed motivation to pursue new opportunities.
3. High Satisfaction
Participants expressed strong satisfaction with program coordination, with 89% reporting they were satisfied or very satisfied. The Secretariats remained closely engaged through ongoing troubleshooting, webinars, email support, and an active WhatsApp community.
4. Building Community
Community-building was one of the standout successes of 2025:
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88% of respondents joined the WhatsApp community, with 83% rating it very useful.
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90% attended at least one learning webinar – the most attended sessions included the WASH AI sessions, Near-Peer Mentorship session, and the Exit Session.
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Mentor-only sessions continued to build a supportive space for shared learning among senior professionals.
5. Professional Growth
Participants reported concrete and meaningful outcomes:
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Deepened understanding of the WASH sector.
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Increased confidence in networking and career planning.
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Exposure to new tools and frameworks—from groundwater detection methods to community engagement strategies.
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Mentors highlighted valuable learning from emerging professionals, especially those from the Global South.
Looking Ahead
Participants expressed strong interest in future thematic content, particularly:
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Funding opportunities and career development (48%)
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Technology and WASH innovation (26%)
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Water resource management (12%)
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Climate and environmental sustainability (12%)
With its highest participation to date and exceptional engagement levels, the 2025 program reaffirmed the value of global mentorship in strengthening the WASH workforce. We look forward to building on this momentum as we continue connecting, supporting, and empowering professionals across the world.