Welcome to 2026: What We Built Together and What We’re Building Next

Progress Update 

January 2026

Last year, the Women in STEM Network moved forward in ways that were tangible, measurable, and built to last. We strengthened the platform, expanded our global reach and grew a community that is increasingly structured, credible, and ready for scale.

This post is a thank you to everyone who made that progress possible, and a clear statement of what we need next: more members, more partnerships, and more sponsorship so we can build faster and serve more women in STEM properly.

Building the foundations: from concept to functioning platform

When people hear “network,” they often picture a LinkedIn group, a few online events, and some helpful posts. The WiSN is intentionally more than that. Last year, we made major progress in developing the infrastructure that turns a community into a platform.

We implemented a tiered membership model designed to remove barriers while still supporting sustainability. This mattered because the WiSN serves women in very different circumstances globally, and a single price point will always exclude someone. We moved to a structure where professionals in paid work pay more, students pay less, and members in emerging economies pay a reduced amount, all based on trust and honesty.

That is not a small change. It signals what we are trying to build: a values-led platform with a long-term growth plan, designed for global inclusion without compromising quality.

Alongside that, we significantly improved the members-only platform itself. We strengthened navigation, created clearer pathways, and expanded what members can actually do inside the portal. This includes the ability to manage profiles, access resources, build mentoring relationships, and engage in community spaces that are private and purposeful.

The platform now includes multiple hubs that reflect what women in STEM consistently tell me they need most.

• A Membership Hub for practical membership management and tools such as downloadable certificates and badges.
• A Skills Hub that houses on-demand training and career resources.
• A Mentorship Hub that supports structured mentoring and mentoring search.
• A Social and Collaboration Hub for private discussion, peer support, and early-stage project collaboration.

And development underway for a Recruitment Hub that will connect members with organisations actively seeking to hire women in STEM.

If the WiSN is going to be more than a well-meaning initiative, this kind of structure is essential. Community is powerful, but community without systems becomes chaotic. Last year, we did the hard, unglamorous work of building those systems.

Delivering value: events and skills development that respect women’s time

A major part of our model is professional development that is genuinely useful.

Last year, the WiSN continued to deliver a strong calendar of online events, webinars, and spotlight sessions. These were not designed to fill a schedule. They were designed to solve problems women face in STEM.

• How to lead in environments where authority is questioned.
• How to navigate career transitions without losing confidence.
• How to communicate with clarity and presence.
• How to manage uncertainty and change.
• How to build visibility without turning into a personal brand performance.

And we did not stop at live events. We expanded access through on-demand content, ensuring members can benefit even when time zones, caregiving responsibilities, or demanding workloads make live attendance difficult.

The bigger point here is about respect. A platform for women in STEM must respect women’s time. It must deliver quality, not noise. Last year, we kept that focus.

Publishing practical resources: books and tools built for real careers

One of the most strategic developments last year was the expansion of our member resources through practical tools and publishing.

We launched the Success Toolkit book series for women in STEM. These books are designed as usable guides, not motivational reading. They focus on the skills that shape careers, the ones often left out of formal STEM training: influence, communication, confidence, leadership presence, boundaries, negotiation, and strategic career planning.

We then made our digital books free for members. That decision was deliberate. Access to high-quality professional development should not be limited to those with spare budget. It should be part of what membership provides.

We also expanded our members-only worksheet library and planning tools. These are structured resources members can use privately for reflection, goal setting, and progress tracking, including career planning templates, mentoring guides, CPD logs, and practical frameworks for managing workload, visibility, and growth.

In a world saturated with advice, what women often need is structure. Something they can return to, update, and use over time. Last year, we made the WiSN more structurally useful.

Global credibility and visibility: being present where STEM is shaped

WiSN is not an abstract idea. It is represented by real women doing real work in high-impact fields.

Last year, we continued to build visibility through representation at major events and conferences, including Cell UK 2025, where the WiSN was represented on key panels and scientific sessions. The significance is not simply the speaking slots. It is what those speaking slots signal: that the network includes women operating at the leading edge of science and innovation.

We also strengthened our visibility through media coverage and features. 

Each mention, each external piece, each event presence builds credibility. And credibility is what attracts the partners and sponsors who can help scale this work.

Because the WiSN’s long-term goal is not small. We are building a platform designed to be globally recognised. Visibility is not vanity. It is strategic.

Ambassadors and volunteers: the people who turned WiSN into a global movement

WiSN is powered by people.

Last year, our ambassador community grew in structure and impact. Ambassadors did more than share posts. They moderated events, represented the WiSN in their regions, contributed to content, supported outreach, and helped build the kind of trust that cannot be manufactured.

We strengthened coordination across teams, refined systems for collecting testimonials and impact stories, and continued to build a volunteer structure across events, fundraising, partnerships, and social media.

I want to say something clearly here. Volunteer-led does not mean casual. It means committed people giving time because they believe the mission matters.

To every ambassador and volunteer who showed up consistently last year, thank you. The work you do creates access, opportunity, and professional confidence for women you may never meet. It also demonstrates something important to the broader STEM ecosystem: that women will build what they cannot find.

Partnerships: building ecosystems, not islands

Partnership has been one of the most important strategic pillars for the WiSN, and last year we expanded that work.

We built new collaborations, including a partnership with Women in CyberSecurity, offering mutual discounts and future collaboration opportunities across events and visibility.

We also strengthened our approach to developing value-led partnerships that extend beyond branding and into practical benefit for members, such as access to training, structured opportunities, and shared programming.

Partnerships matter because women’s careers are not improved by isolated efforts. They improve when ecosystems change.

WiSN exists to be part of that ecosystem change.

Growth: steady momentum, and a clear gap we need to close

Last year we saw strong growth across our platforms and channels. Our social media reach expanded significantly, and our newsletters continued to grow. That matters because awareness feeds membership, and membership sustains the platform.

We also continued to welcome new paid members each month from across the world.

But I am going to be transparent about the challenge that comes with that.

Growth is real. Demand is real. Engagement is real.

But the costs of building and refining a high-quality global platform are also real.

The WiSN has reached a stage where momentum alone is not enough. Indefinite volunteering and patchwork development is not the long-term plan.

We need to scale in a way that protects quality. That means sponsorship, partnerships, and increased membership.

This is the point many purpose-led platforms reach. The work proves its value, and then it needs investment to mature properly.

And that brings me to the year ahead.

Looking forward: the 10-year plan and what comes next

I am building the WiSN with a long horizon. Not a one-year burst of activity. 

A decade-long plan to create a stable, credible, globally recognised platform that supports women in STEM careers in a way that is practical, note-worthy, and sustainable.

The next phase is focused on three priorities.

First, strengthening platform development. That includes completing and refining the Recruitment Hub, improving the member experience across the platform, and bringing in professional development and branding support so the platform reflects the quality of the community it serves.

Second, expanding strategic partnerships. Not partnerships for logos, but partnerships that create real benefits: member offers, shared training, career pathways, and opportunities for women to be visible at the highest levels of industry and academia.

Third, securing sponsorships and long-term funders. This is essential. If the WiSN is going to provide serious infrastructure for women’s careers, it needs serious backing. Sponsorships support platform development, global events, subsidised memberships, and scalable programmes. They also signal that organisations are prepared to invest in talent pipelines, not just talk about them.

We are also continuing to develop our member offers section, designed to provide evergreen benefits across career development, wellbeing, and professional growth.

And we will continue to build opportunities for in-person, country-led gatherings beginning in late 2026 and into 2027, so that online connection can translate into real-world community and collaboration.

A New Year message to every part of the WiSN community

To our members: thank you for trusting WiSN, investing in it, and helping shape it through your participation.

To our ambassadors and volunteers: thank you for building the credibility, structure, and global reach that makes WiSN what it is.

To our speakers, partners, and supporters: thank you for contributing your expertise and helping expand what we can offer.

To those who have sponsored memberships or supported our appeals: thank you for creating access for women who would otherwise be excluded. That is how a global platform stays true to its mission.

And to those reading this who have been watching WiSN from the sidelines, unsure whether to join, partner, or sponsor: this is the year to get involved.

If you are an individual, join as a member and become part of a network built for action and progress.

If you lead a company, become a sponsor or partner. Support a membership cohort. Fund a programme. Offer opportunities through recruitment pathways. Help build the infrastructure that makes STEM better, not just the commentary around it.

If you are already in the WiSN community, the simplest way to support our growth is to share the WiSN with one colleague who would benefit. One recommendation is often the difference between someone staying stuck and someone finding the network that helps them move forward.

Happy New Year, and thank you for being part of what we are building