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We match parents & carers returning to work with volunteer mentors who have done it all before.

Completely free.

 Mentor matching  Workplace support
Mother at work supporting another mother through mentoring after maternity leave Mother at work supporting another mother through mentoring after maternity leave

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How it works

We’ve been matching returners with parents and carers in similar professions since 2020. We pride ourselves on matching personally and sensitively.

  Find a mentor   Become a mentor

Sign up on our website, and book an intro call with one of our fantastic match coordinators.

We’ll search for the best possible pairing for you. This can take time – it’s a personalised service and we want to get it right.

We put you in touch, and provide you with a log-in to our members-only area, full of useful resources.

Together you take it from there! We recommend 6 sessions over 3-6 months, but it's up to the both of you. Alongside your mentorship, look out for our support circles and live events.

Testimonials

What returners say about us

"My experience with Mentor Mums has been amazing - it was exactly the support that I didn’t even realise I needed at the right time. What can I say?! Mentoring with Emma has positively benefited my life in so many ways. "

— Steph, Senior Product Manager

"Amazing to connect with someone with shared experience, great tips for managing issues and concerns that arise when starting and running a business... I have some really excellent strategies in place now."

— Julia, Architect & Landscape designer

"My mentor was brilliant at coaxing out information and helping guide my thinking when things felt a bit all over the place and chaotic. Her experience really helped bring my sessions to life and allowed discussions around shared experiences, which I found invaluable."

— Anne, Head of Communications

"I have found my relationship with my mentor super useful. She has helped me think through a number of early issues in my new role. You matched us very well and I always really look forward to our sessions once a month."

— Agnes, Business Consultant

"I was really nervous returning to work - to a new role in a new company - after maternity leave. But my mentor has really helped calm my nerves and give me strategies for how to feel confident."

— Emily, Professional Development Expert

Workplaces

Supporting workplaces for long-lasting change

We believe supporting returners through their transition back is only part of the solution. That’s why we help workplaces improve their support for parents and carers at every milestone, through workshops and consultancy on the issues we hear returners raising every single day. Everything we do is bespoke to the clients we work with, and rooted in our insights from the hundreds of returners using our mentoring programme.

Find out more
FAQs

Your questions answered

01

Is there a charge for mentors?

Our mentors don’t get paid to give up their time for others, so we don’t charge for it either. This is about a community of people supporting each other. If you benefit from your mentoring experience we’d love you to consider ‘paying it forward’ by becoming a mentor to someone else, or submitting a thought piece to our Community.

02

How long does the mentorship last?

For mentoring to work well, we recommend you engage in one session before returning to work and around six sessions in total. We have some suggested frameworks to guide mentors and mentees through the process. But once you’ve been matched, it’s on your terms - there are of course no limits! Decide what feels right with your mentor/mentee, and remember the golden rule: don’t cancel your chats unless absolutely necessary!

03

Can I mentor if I've never mentored before?

Absolutely. There’s no right approach to returning to work. This is an opportunity to share your own experience with someone in a similar role, and help flag the things you wish you’d known, or share tips that helped you transition. We’ll be sharing advice on effective mentoring too.

04

Why isn't the programme open to Dads?

We believe the extended time out of the workplace is the reason returning is hard, and often the mother, who often has to recover from the physical act of birth, plays this role. Happily, more and more often dads are playing this role too, so if dads want to sign up, we’ll try and find mentors (although as this is a less common request we can’t promise we’ll always find someone suitable).

05

Can Mentor Mums help me get a job?

Unfortunately we’re not able to support people looking for a new role.

06

How will Mentor Mums benefit me?

If you’re a mentee, you’ll have a trustworthy mentor who will listen and support you as you navigate working alongside parenting.


If you’re a mentor, you’ll be trained and supported in mentoring someone, and will grow and develop your professional skills and confidence.


If you’re an employer, supporting Mentor Mums will help you build a stronger, more resilient and inclusive workplace, and will likely mean better retention of working parents and carers.

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