International Women's Day 2026: #GiveToGain

To mark International Women’s Day 2026, and in the spirit of this year’s theme #GiveToGain, the Early Careers Launchpad and Rhodes Scholars in Residence invite you to a one-hour virtual panel discussion exploring the people, decisions, and turning points that quietly shape a life of purpose.

Facilitated by a Scholar in Residence, the conversation will bring Rhodes Alum together to reflect on the women who have influenced their career trajectories; as mentors, colleagues, exemplars, and, at times, challengers. Rather than polished success stories, the panel will navigate the balancing of ambition and uncertainty: the mentors who mattered, the mistakes they are glad they made, and the decisions that were "wrong on paper but right in life".

In keeping with #GiveToGain, the discussion will consider what it means to invest in others while shaping one’s own path; how mentorship and shared wisdom can expand both individual and collective possibility.

Together, the panellists will explore:

• How mentorship evolves across different stages of a career

• What early-career missteps can teach us, in hindsight and in practice

• How values, intuition, and lived experience shape decisions beyond conventional markers of success

Panellists TBC.

We warmly welcome participants from across disciplines and geographies to join the conversation.