The RES Mentoring Programme, run by the Women’s Committee, provides women, who are early career academics, the opportunity to be part of a mentoring programme. This includes those on both research and education tracks.
Applications are now open for 2026
Eligibility: Mentees must be members of the RES, identify as a woman, have recently obtained their PhD or be close to their PhD completion. They must be working/studying in the UK or in countries with similar academic environments and career patterns.
If selected, mentees will be asked to submit their CV and a disciplinary research paper, or other relevant written material, by mid-January 2026 (more details of exactly what is required will be provided on acceptance). Any non-member applicants will be invited to join the RES if they wish to participate.
Mentees and mentors will be matched based on mutual research and teaching interests wherever possible. However, please consider that the mentoring will consist of mentoring of general feedback on a research paper/pedagogical plan and career advice and therefore, a perfect match with research interests is not necessary.
For more information, please contact wcommittee@res.org.uk
Timeline:
Format of Mentoring Programme
The RES Mentoring Programme consists of two main parts:
A format that has been used by mentors in previous years is to divide each of the individual sessions in three parts:
(i) a short presentation by the mentee to introduce themselves to the rest of the group,
(ii) a discussion of strengths and weaknesses of the paper with comments provided by the other mentees,
(iii) the provision of advice on the paper and career by the mentor.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Women’s Committee at wcommittee@res.org.uk
Thank you to all the mentors and mentees who have participated in previous years. Since its inception, over 300 mentees have been mentored through the programme.
Mentoring Programme 2025
In 2025, the in-person session was held at the RES Annual Conference in Birmingham, on 30 June 2025, comprising of a Women’s Committee Special Session and a networking lunch.
The Special Session presented evidence on some more subtle disadvantages faced by junior women economists. Their teaching and research are sometimes evaluated differently, and, in Ireland, they are less likely than men to be accepted to conferences and to engage with the media.
Mentoring Programme 2024
In 2024, the in-person session was held at the RES Annual Conference in Belfast, on 27 March 2024, comprising of a Women’s Committee Special Session and a networking lunch.
The Special Session presented evidence on some more subtle disadvantages faced by junior women economists. Their teaching and research are sometimes evaluated differently, and, in Ireland, they are less likely than men to be accepted to conferences and to engage with the media.
The 2023 Mentoring in-person session took place during the 2023 RES Annual Conference. The Women’s Committee coordinated a special session on “Advice on Publishing in Economics” and many mentees and mentors attended.
The session focused on the process of publication and provided some tips for early career researchers. It also covered the issue of women’s under-representation in Economics.
The 2022 Mentoring Retreat took place on Tuesday 26 April 2022. This virtual event offered an opportunity for informal networking for all mentees and mentors. The RES Mentoring Retreat also included plenary sessions on topics such as career progression, research funding applications and other relevant career advice.
Presentations given at the April event are available to rewatch, they include:
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Mentoring Sub-committee (Prof. Jo Blanden and Dr Valentina Tonei) of the RES women’s committee at wcommittee@res.org.uk or for general RES event enquiries, please contact Georgina Jenkins on events@res.org.uk
