Sachsen

With around 30 participants, a lively, open and inspiring kick-off meeting for the first mentoring programme for young female architects from Saxony took place on 27 May 2026 at the Haus der Architekten Sachsen.

Despite the short preparation and application period, a total of 26 women from Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz had applied for the mentoring programme – 13 young colleagues as mentees seeking advice, and 13 experienced colleagues as volunteer mentors. 
We are delighted by the great interest shown in this new format for exchange and mutual support amongst female architects, landscape architects and urban planners! 

Mentoring Programm - Foto Sigrid Böttcher-Steeb

The day was led by Ulrike Gregor, an experienced team and organisational development specialist from Berlin. Thanks to her wonderful facilitation and guidance, the five hours of getting to know one another, group work and discussion flew by. With a touch of humour, but addressing the serious issue of inequality of opportunity, we also built some amusing, illustrative ‘machines’ that get straight to the heart of what might help us, as women in architecture and planning, to better assert ourselves in the construction industry, the workplace and our careers in future.

It wasn’t until the end of the event that the mentoring pairs were announced – a thrilling ‘aha’ moment! Between now and the closing event in November 2026, each mentee and mentor will meet 3–4 times for personalised one-to-one sessions, tailored to their individual needs. We had previously identified and discussed the expectations, goals and also the limits of the mentoring programme through in-depth group work. And with a jointly developed ‘ABC of Mentoring’, we took a moment right at the end to refocus on the goals and expectations for the mentoring programme.

The 2026 pilot programme will come to an end in November 2026. We will meet again at a closing event to deepen our dialogue and evaluate our shared experiences from the one-to-one sessions, together with other guests. There will be short workshops on topics that have emerged during the mentoring process. The mentoring pilot project will be reviewed and evaluated once again collectively – this will provide the Saxony Chamber of Architects with valuable insights and suggestions for the planned continuation of a mentoring programme in the coming years.

The pilot project ‘Mentoring for Young Female Planners in Saxony’ was launched following inspiration from the WIA Women in Architecture Festival 2025. A small group of female architects from Dresden worked on a voluntary basis with the Working Group on Equal Opportunities and Participation to develop the concept for the mentoring programme and, thanks to funding from the Saxony Chamber of Architects, launched it with great enthusiasm.

Many thanks to the team: Anja Oehler-Brenner (Arch.), Sigrid Böttcher-Steeb, Ulrike Zänker (Landscape Arch.) with Magda Buschek (intern at FREIRÄUME)

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