The Magenta Project launches 10th edition of its successful women’s sailing mentorship

Viveka Herzum

As a new survey highlights the major challenges women still face in the marine industry, the Magenta Project has launched the 2025-26 edition of its successful mentoring programme.

TAGS:

The Magenta Project has launched the 10th edition of its successful mentoring programme for 2025/26.

The charity, founded in 2015 by members of Team SCA from the Volvo Ocean Race, works to increase equity in sailing and to provide development opportunities to women sailors.

Mentorship covers eight distinct pathways: Offshore, Inshore, Foiling, STEM, Media, Leadership, Race Management and Race Support.

Foiling clinic hosted by Performance Academy and the Magenta Project’s Foiling Team. Photo: Lotte Johnson.

Since 2018, the mentoring program has helped 300 mentees receive support from over 100 industry professionals. The incoming 2025-26 cohort will have the program’s most diverse group of participants to date, with 18% of mentors being male.

Victoria Low, CEO of The Magenta Project, stresses that mentorship is a collective effort.

Mentoring is not a solo project

‘Mentoring is not a solo project; it’s a discipline. We’re proud to see this programme double in scale and evolve each year, while also being open to collaboration with other global mentoring initiatives,’ she says. ‘Together we can build something stronger than any of us could achieve alone.’

Photo: The Magenta Project.

Other recent initiatives from the Magenta Project include an industry-wide survey into equity and inclusion in sailing, which ran from July to September 2025.

The survey highlighted that 62% of respondents have experienced sexism within marine spaces, while 46% have felt unwelcome at a sailing club or event.

These and other crucial findings will be publicly launched at Metstrade and the Yacht Racing Forum, as well as presented at World Sailing AGM in November 2025.

Photo: The Magenta Project.

The Magenta Project has also launched a digital platform, the Mighty Magenta Community Hub.

Through an interactive newsfeed, direct messaging, access to webinars and events, curated resources, and listings of global opportunities, the platform aims to provide tools for communication and professional development within sailing and the wider marine industry, in order to continue making maritime spaces more equitable for all.

Enjoyed reading about the Magenta Project?

A subscription to Yachting Monthly magazine costs around 40% less than the cover price, so you can save money compared to buying single issues.

Print and digital editions are available through Magazines Direct – where you can also find the latest deals.

YM is packed with information to help you get the most from your time on the water.

      • Take your seamanship to the next level with tips, advice and skills from our experts
      • Impartial in-depth reviews of the latest yachts and equipment
      • Cruising guides to help you reach those dream destinations

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Note: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site, at no extra cost to you. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.