Over 17,500 people across Northern Ireland have been positively impacted by 756 young women, including 124 from County Derry, who led almost 500 community projects over the past year, according to a new report released by SistersIN.

SistersIN is a leadership and mentoring programme that empowers, educates and inspires young women aged 16-18 by pairing them with mentors from across business, public life and the community. Rather than waiting for leadership opportunities to find them, participants are encouraged to identify issues they care about and create projects that make a tangible difference.

124 students from schools in County Derry, including Lumen Christi College, St. Cecilia's College, Foyle College, Lisneal College, Loreto College, Coleraine, St. Patrick’s College, Maghera, along with St. Pius X College and Sperrin Integrated College, Magherafelt, were part of the 2025-2026 programme.

In the last 12 months, the young women participants designed and delivered 480 leadership projects through the charity’s programmes, contributing 9,060 hours of activity to their schools and local communities. More than a third (38%) of SistersIN participants created entirely new initiatives that will continue beyond the current programme, showing leadership in practice, not just in theory, and leaving a lasting legacy in their schools and communities.

placeholder image — SistersIN Graduation - Lumen Christi.

A student from Lisneal College said: “I have gained more confidence and self-belief. My mentor was fabulous and taught me a lot of valuable information that I will definitely use throughout life.”

A teacher from Sperrin Integrated College said: “A transformative, inspirational and fundamentally important programme which makes me proud to be a female leader who is developing young female leaders.”

SistersNI said that girls who started the programme with lower confidence and self-awareness showed three times greater improvement than girls who started with higher baseline scores.

92% of the pupils involved said they felt more prepared for the transition from education into the professional world following their mentoring and job-shadow day.

Two fifths (42%) of pupils said that taking part in a SistersIN programme felt a boost in their ability to lead and are actively looking for opportunities to use their voice.

The statistics arrive from SisterNI’s commissioned research involving more than 750 participants, alongside their teachers and mentors.

Peter Dobbin, SistersIN Chairman, said: "Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not always evenly distributed. SistersIN exists to help change that by ensuring young women from every background and every part of Northern Ireland can access the mentoring, networks and experiences that help them thrive.

"This year's participants have shown what happens when young women are given the confidence to lead. They have created projects that have made a real difference in their schools and communities, while developing the skills, resilience and ambition that will serve them throughout their lives. Northern Ireland's future leaders are already here, and they are ready to make their mark."

Founded in Northern Ireland in 2022, SistersIN said it was created with a clear ambition: “To help close the leadership gender gap by supporting young women at a formative stage of their lives. In four years it has grown from a local initiative into one of Northern Ireland's leading youth leadership programmes, built on mentoring, community impact and the belief that every young woman should have access to the skills, confidence and networks needed to lead.”