CHAPTERS > Portugal

Portugal Chapter

5 members registered

About Us

About The Chapter

Girls for Girls Portugal was launched in December 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, by a team of women from diverse backgrounds who shared a common vision: to empower young women to aspire to, and succeed in, leadership across sectors, both public and private. The initiative was spearheaded by Ariana Simões de Almeida, who brought the global Harvard-born Girls for Girls movement—founded at Harvard in 2017—to Portugal as part of her commitment to accelerating gender equality, not only in her role as a Gender and Women’s Empowerment expert for global programmes with the United Nations, but also at home.

She was joined by Emily Avila, Tanya Wells-Brown, Francisca Souto Moura Bos and Isabel Novais Machado, who worked together voluntarily to establish the project and create a safe space where young women could identify and overcome both systemic and self-imposed barriers to leadership. As the program gained momentum, a broader team of mentors, facilitators, and partners helped expand its impact. Recognizing the need for a sustainable and growing platform for change, the Portugal co-leads – with support from the law firm VdA, formalized the project in 2022, creating the Girls for Girls Portugal Association (NGO).

Our Achievements

Since its inception, Girls for Girls Portugal has grown from small virtual and hybrid pilot cohorts in 2021—organized in partnership with the Nova School of Business and Economics – into a highly successful in-person bootcamp model. These programs, that consistently engage over 30 participants per cohort, provide immersive personal and leadership development experiences.

The initiative has also hosted exclusive sessions with leading national and global women leaders, including Teresa Fragoso (former president of the Portuguese Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality) and Mónica Ferro (Director of UNFPA in London, Portugal and Italy), among others. Their journeys and insights have inspired both mentees and mentors, reinforcing the importance of diverse and courageous leadership.

With over 30 trained mentors and more than 240 mentees from 16 different nationalities, Girls for Girls Portugal continues to expand its reach and strengthen its network of women leaders and changemakers.

Our Target

Since its launch, Girls for Girls Portugal has primarily focused on university students from diverse backgrounds and age groups, equipping them with the tools, mentorship, and confidence to step into leadership roles across sectors. To expand our impact, we are strengthening partnerships with Iscte – University Institute of Lisbon and broadening access to leadership development across different academic and professional fields.

Beyond universities, we are also expanding our reach to the private sector to organize bootcamps and awareness-raising sessions. These partnerships will allow us to provide leadership development tailored to workplace challenges and opportunities.

To support more women at different stages of their leadership journey, and after a successful pilot in partnership with the 2022 Sou Quarteira initiative pilot sou quarteira.jpg we are also working to localize sessions for under-served high-school students, ensuring early access to mentorship and skill-building opportunities.

Through these initiatives, we remain committed to equipping women—regardless of age, background, or career stage—with the skills, support, and confidence to effect change as courageous leaders in their communities and professions.

Country Lead

Ariana Simões de Almeida

Current Events

Chapter Updates

Pillar 1

Inclusive Mentorship

Our Chapter successfully ran eight cohorts in both English and Portuguese, reaching a diverse group of Portuguese and international bachelor’s and master’s students. With participants from 16 nationalities, the program creates a ripple effect, as mentees take their leadership skills and experiences back to their home countries, expanding the impact of Girls for Girls Portugal beyond borders.

Over 240 mentees have completed the program and joined the G4G Portugal alumnae network, strengthening a growing global community of women committed to leadership and mutual support. To enhance their development, mentees also had access to one-on-one mentorship sessions with bootcamp mentors, allowing them to deepen their skills and explore areas of interest with experienced professionals.

These mentors come from a wide range of industries and expertise, including executive coaching, leadership development, human resources, media, diversity & inclusion, sustainability, and business strategy. With years of experience in multinational organizations, academia, and entrepreneurship, they provide practical insights, career guidance, and support to mentees. Many mentors have worked internationally, bringing a global perspective to leadership and career progression.

By connecting mentees with experienced professionals who are passionate about fostering leadership and breaking barriers for women, the Girls for Girls Portugal mentorship program continues to empower women at different stages of their leadership journey—helping them gain the skills, confidence, and network needed to drive meaningful change.

Pillar 2

Insights & Inspiration

At Girls for Girls Portugal, we believe that inspiration fuels leadership. By creating spaces for critical conversations, we connect mentees, mentors, and experts to discuss the barriers, opportunities, and responsibilities of leadership in driving gender equality.

In June 2024, we hosted a thought-provoking discussion at the Goethe-Institut Portugal, bringing together G4G Portugal mentors and alumnae and national and global leaders and changemakers to explore the systemic and self-imposed barriers that hold women back from leadership and how mentorship, role models, and champions can help shift these norms.

In December 2024, as part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, we led an online dialogue on courageous leadership in the fight against GBV, reinforcing the need for accountability, action, and stronger commitments to ending violence.

In February 2025, we collaborated with ISCTE Business School’s SDG Webinar Series to discuss leading with courage, where we shared insights on promoting gender equality and supporting women’s leadership journeys across sectors.

Through these initiatives, Girls for Girls Portugal continues to empower women by fostering conversations that challenge norms, inspire action, and create a ripple effect of change.

Pillar 3

Impactful Network

Building a strong and engaged network is at the heart of Girls for Girls Portugal. Through strategic partnerships, public engagements, and ongoing collaborations, we continue to expand our reach and influence in the fight for gender equality.

We actively engage with the diplomatic community, notably with the embassies of Canada, France, Germany, and the UK, participating in workshops, events, and discussions that promote gender equality and diverse and inclusive leadership. Through these engagements, G4G Portugal strengthens its presence in key discussions, builds strategic partnerships, and amplifies its impact.

A key example was our participation in the “Ambassador for a Day” programme hosted by the UK Embassy for International Women’s Day 2025, where we led a workshop on courageous leadership

Girls for Girls Portugal also gains visibility and expands its network through the participation of its President, Ariana Simões de Almeida, in high-profile events as a recognized expert in gender equality and women’s empowerment. In October 2024, she spoke at the POWER Conference at ISEG, addressing gender equality and female leadership ISEG POWER.jpg.For International Women’s Day 2024, she led a discussion at Nova SBE, debunking gender equality myths and emphasizing the urgency of investing in women’s empowerment IWD 2024.JPG. She also joined Nova SBE’s Women in Politics Event , advocating for greater women’s representation in decision-making.

Words From Our Member

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Girls For Girls has been an incredible journey for me and the core team from the pilots and registering as an NGO to the impact we have seen, as well as the interest and engagement we are constantly receiving across the board, and nationally. It’s also given me a sense of purpose, energised me and made me more hopeful about effecting change, especially while witnessing so many setbacks for women and girls across the globe