A mentorship shaped by safety, openness, and finding your voice

When Anna joined the Young Workplace Pride Mentorship Program, she was looking for more than career advice. Coming from a conservative background and working in a highly technical field, she wanted a space where she could learn how to navigate her career while also becoming more comfortable expressing herself; asking questions, sharing doubts, and connecting with others in the LGBTIQ+ community.

“It really helped me feel more comfortable speaking up — asking questions, reflecting on my career, and connecting with people I otherwise wouldn’t have approached.” — Anna, mentee

Matched with Ping, the mentorship quickly became exactly that: a safe, informal space grounded in openness and mutual understanding. From the first conversations, they focused on getting to know each other as people, sharing personal backgrounds, career paths, and experiences of growing up, studying, and working while navigating identity.

For Anna, this created room to grow beyond technical development. The mentorship helped her build confidence in speaking about her ambitions, reflecting on her place within the organisation, and connecting more actively with others in the Workplace Pride community. Through conversations about networking, visibility, and belonging, she began to feel more at ease reaching out to people and exploring how she could contribute, whether through community involvement or professional growth.

“When I participated as a mentee myself, it was incredibly valuable to see someone who was already out and navigating work with confidence. It helped me feel more comfortable in my own skin and showed me what was possible.” — Ping, mentor (former mentee)

For Ping, mentoring Anna was closely connected to his own journey. Having once participated in the program as a mentee himself, he remembered how impactful it was to see someone who had already navigated similar challenges. As a mentor, he aimed to create that same sense of safety — keeping the relationship non‑hierarchical, open, and human. Rather than positioning himself as someone with all the answers, he focused on listening, sharing lived experience, and helping Anna navigate working life in a way that felt authentic to her.

Their relationship shows how mentoring works best when it’s not about fixed agendas or one‑directional advice. Instead, it becomes a shared space for reflection, confidence‑building, and learning — on both sides.

Their story reflects the strength of the Young Workplace Pride Mentorship Program: creating environments where people can be themselves, learn from one another, and grow — professionally and personally — without having to leave parts of themselves at the door.

Ping, DNB – mentor
Anna, ABN Amro – mentee
Interview: Sanne Brons, Young WPP Board
Date: 4-3-2026

Interested in joining?
The next Young Mentorship Program starts in October.
Sign-ups are open until September 30 for mentors and mentees from Workplace Pride member companies.

Important to know:
The Young Workplace Pride Mentorship Program is exclusively available to members of Workplace Pride, connecting professionals from organisations committed to advancing LGBTIQ+ inclusion across sectors.

Not a member yet?
If your organiation wants to invest in meaningful connection, inclusion, and leadership development, now is the time to join Workplace Pride.