To mark International Women’s Day on Sunday (8 March), Women in BIM global vice-chair Marie Grieve offers five top tips for a successful mentorship.
The Women in BIM Mentor Scheme has established itself as a flagship professional development initiative within the global digital construction community. Designed to support women working across BIM and the wider architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector, the scheme provides structured, one-to-one mentoring that fosters career progression, leadership capability and industry confidence.
Founded as part of Women in BIM’s (WIB) broader mission to promote diversity, inclusion and equity in digital construction, the Mentor Scheme responds directly to a persistent industry challenge: the underrepresentation of women in senior technical and leadership roles.
While BIM continues to reshape the built environment, gender imbalance within the industry remains evident. The WIB Mentor Scheme addresses this disparity through practical, measurable action, equipping participants with guidance, networks and advocacy that support long-term advancement.
At its core, the scheme pairs experienced industry professionals with mentees seeking guidance at various stages of their careers. Typically structured over a six- to nine-month period, it follows a defined framework that includes goal-setting, progress tracking and regular structured dialogue. This formalised approach distinguishes it from informal mentoring relationships by ensuring accountability, consistency and tangible outcomes.
A defining strength of the programme lies in its international reach. Operating across multiple regions, it connects professionals from diverse geographic, cultural and technical backgrounds.
This global dimension reflects the collaborative nature of digital construction, where projects and teams frequently span borders. Participants benefit not only from career guidance, but also from exposure to various standards, workflows and leadership approaches.
Five tips for successful mentoring
The WIB Mentor Scheme is co-led by WIB global administration manager, Nicole De Cicco. Drawing on extensive experience within the organisation and the digital construction community, she emphasises that effective mentoring is rooted in authenticity, structure and mutual growth.
De Cicco outlines five core tips that underpin successful mentoring relationships within the scheme:
- Start with listening: effective mentoring begins not with advice, but with understanding. Taking time to listen to a mentee’s experiences and challenges builds trust and psychological safety. Feeling heard often enables mentees to develop clarity and confidence independently, strengthening their decision-making capabilities.
- Encourage confidence: while technical competence is essential in BIM and digital construction, confidence frequently determines how those skills are recognised and rewarded. Mentors play a critical role in reinforcing strengths, challenging self-doubt and helping mentees recognise their own potential – supporting both personal and professional development.
- Share challenges, not just successes: transparency is central to building credible mentoring relationships. By speaking openly about professional obstacles and personal setbacks, mentors normalise the reality that careers in digital construction are rarely linear. This honesty fosters relatability and resilience, demonstrating that progression often involves learning from difficulty rather than avoiding it.
- Champion, don’t just advise: the scheme encourages mentors to go beyond guidance where possible. Advocacy – whether through recommending mentees for opportunities, facilitating introductions to networks or encouraging greater visibility – can significantly accelerate growth. The integration of sponsorship alongside mentoring distinguishes the programme as action-oriented rather than purely advisory.
- Remember that it’s a two-way learning process: mentoring within WIB is framed as mutually beneficial. Mentors frequently gain fresh perspectives, insights into emerging tools and technologies, and a deeper understanding of evolving career experiences in digital construction. Approaching the relationship as reciprocal ensures continued engagement and impact.
Broader ecosystem of support
These are reinforced by comprehensive supporting resources, including mentoring handbooks and structured templates that guide conversations and track progress. This infrastructure ensures that each match operates with clarity of purpose while retaining flexibility to address individual goals.
The Mentor Scheme also sits within a broader ecosystem of global networking events, knowledge-sharing initiatives and regional engagement led by WIB regional leads. Participants therefore benefit from integration into an active global community, amplifying the impact of one-to-one mentoring through collective connection.
Feedback from previous cohorts consistently highlights increased confidence, clearer career direction and expanded professional networks as measurable outcomes.
For mentors, the scheme offers leadership development and the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to sector-wide progress.
For mentees, the scheme provides structured career guidance, increased confidence, expanded professional networks and access to experienced industry leaders who actively support their growth and progression for both professional and personal development.
As digital construction continues to evolve, inclusive leadership and representative talent pipelines are essential to sustainable growth. The scheme stands out for its structured methodology, international scope and emphasis on advocacy, as well as guidance. It demonstrates how intentional mentoring frameworks can drive meaningful change, supporting individual careers while strengthening the future of the built environment industry as a whole.
The WIB Mentor Scheme 2026 opened for applications at the end of February.
