The first meeting with the Portuguese mentors of the STAR Girls Dream Team was not only a moment to welcome them – it was also a space to understand why each woman had chosen to join the project, what moved them personally, and how their own professional and life experiences could help young women imagine a future in STEM, engineering, clean energy and other strategic sectors.
For several mentors, the motivation is clear: STAR Girls responds to a challenge that has persisted for too long. Some recalled the strong imbalance in engineering courses, very different from what is seen in other areas of study. When one of the mentors’ graduated, she remembered being in an amphitheatre of around 200 people where the women could be counted with the fingers of one hand. Her testimony reminds us that representation is not an abstract issue; it is something that many women have experienced directly, often from the very beginning of their academic paths. Another referred to only having male role models, as a consequence of exposure.
Other mentors also bring the perspective of someone who knows what it means to be a woman in a technical field. One of them, as a metallurgical engineer, entered a profession where women were rare. For her, mentoring means using experience to help others understand the difficulties that exist, but also to identify ways to overcome them. Already involved in another network with a similar purpose, she sees STAR Girls as a meaningful initiative and feels able to contribute with attention, awareness and practical insight. Another one, reflected on how much uncertainty there can be at the beginning of an engineering path. When she entered the field, there was still little understanding of what engineering really was and what possibilities it could open. Her role as a mentor is therefore connected to helping others recognise their potential, access the right tools and progress.
Others’ motivation comes from a deep reflection on purpose. Across the different areas one mentor has worked in, she repeatedly encountered male-dominated environments. Passionate about technology and people, and driven by causes, she sees STAR Girls as a project that speaks directly to her values: inclusion, influence and the possibility of helping others see themselves in places where they have not always felt represented. Another mentor, by working in Human Resources in the renewable energy sector, has seen progress and a greater gender balance over time, but she also knows how difficult it can still be to recruit women for certain roles. Having followed this evolution closely, she feels she has contributed — and should continue to contribute — both at an organisational and personal level to strengthening women’s representation in the sector.
This sense of purpose also appears to be linked to different stages in the mentors’ professional and personal trajectories. Several of them described an initial period in their careers that was more focused on technical development, professional growth and personal consolidation. As they progressed into more stable phases, with greater experience and a clearer sense of their own position in the sector, many began to feel the need to contribute to something with more explicit social value. For some, this meant moving closer to socially oriented areas; for others, it meant becoming involved in initiatives connected to activism, gender equality, and women’s participation in fields where they remain underrepresented.
A strong message also emerged around resilience, adaptability and mutual learning. One mentor reflected on her own academic challenges, while she shared how the difficulties she experienced created empathy and changed the way she motivates and influences others. Her message was powerful: every “no” we receive may carry a purpose, and helping others can also become a way of fulfilling our own dreams. The last Mentor participating in this session, has not lived the same gender gap as some of the other mentors. Still, she recognises the importance of STAR Girls and the needs behind it. As an academic and teacher, her work is closely connected to young people — not only teaching them, but also learning with them, and for her, this group is also a space for that.
Together, these testimonies show that the Portuguese STAR Girls mentors are not motivated by one single story. Some come from engineering, industry and renewable energy. Others bring experience from academia, human resources, leadership, organisational development and education. Some have lived gender imbalance directly; others recognise it through their work with young people, teams or recruitment processes.
What unites this group is the belief that mentoring can make a difference. Not by offering a perfect roadmap, but by sharing honest experiences, opening possibilities and helping young women understand their potential.
The Portuguese STAR Girls Dream Team begins from this shared commitment: to transform personal experience into guidance, representation into confidence and individual journeys into collective support for the next generation.