Santander W50 Poland 2025: Meeting of female leaders of the future
The aim of the meeting of the winners of the Santander W50 programme, which took place on 25 March in Warsaw, was to exchange valuable experiences, support and inspire each other to grow in managerial positions. As many as 50 Polish business leaders qualified for the global stage of the SW50 competition, the winners of which will take part in a special training course in London, run by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
The Santander W50 programme has been supporting women in business for 15 years, sharing tools and knowledge with them and promoting the creation of networks necessary for career development. During the training, participants improve their leadership skills and learn the best techniques for project and team management as well as negotiation skills. Women participating in the project also take part in conferences and individual and group coaching sessions. Although a recent Eurostat survey indicates that Poland is quickly catching up in terms of equal opportunities for women, it is not without its challenges. Latvia is in the lead with 46% of women in management positions, closely followed by Poland and Sweden with 43%. This is further proof of how important and necessary projects such as SW50 are. Thanks to them, we can support equality and inclusive trends in the labour market.
The project is divided into two stages, local and global. In the first phase, SW50 is held in 11 countries, including Poland, Spain, Portugal, the UK, Germany and the USA, as well as several South American countries. Local groups of experts select the winners based on their experience, career path and motivation.
The first part of the programme focuses on educating and supporting women in their countries. Women in senior management and executive positions applied to participate in the programme. Applications were submitted via santanderopenacademy.com. One of the key elements of the local stage, both in Poland and in other countries, is a networking meeting for the winners, organised by Santander. In Poland, it took place in Warsaw, and its aim was to create a space for the exchange of experiences and establishing valuable contacts.
Unique meeting for female leaders from Poland
During the meeting, the SW50 programme participants had the opportunity to listen to Dominika Bettman giving a lecture on ‘Inclusive Leadership – Empathy, Mentoring, Inspiration’.
There was also a panel discussion entitled ‘How is the role of a leader changing in the era of artificial intelligence?’ with the participation of bank experts: Magdalena Proga-Stępień, Management Board Member responsible for the Retail Banking Division, Dorota Strojkowska, Management Board Member in charge of the Business Partnership Division, Lech Gałkowski, Management Board Member responsible for the Business and Corporate Banking Division, and Beata Żaczek – Vice President of the Pekabex Group and winner of the previous edition of the SW50 project.
The panel focused on the role of leaders in the age of AI – from data-driven decision making, to managing teams using new technologies, to developing the key competencies of the future. The participants were also engaged in an interactive discussion using the Mentimeter platform.
After the local stage, 550 women, i.e. 50 winners from each of the 11 countries, will undergo an additional evaluation and take part in the final global stage. Of these, 50 women will be selected for an intensive residential course at the LSE campus in London.
Women's entrepreneurship in Poland is at a high level, and should be supported and nurtured. We believe that strengthening women's position in business allows for the creation of a more dynamic and innovative work environment. Therefore, apart from the Santander W50 programme, Santander Bank Polska implements other educational, mentoring and financial initiatives, such as the agreement that was signed with the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund. Under this agreement, as much as PLN 1.6 billion out of the PLN 5 billion fund for the development of SMEs in Poland will go to companies owned by women, managed by women and enterprises that meet gender equality criteria.
Santander Open Academy is a global learning and development platform that offers fully subsidized courses, free high-quality learning content and scholarships at top universities and institutions all over the world to help people boost their job skills and become more employable.
About London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a global community of people and ideas in the heart of central London. One of the world’s most international universities, it specializes in social sciences and has an excellent reputation. LSE’s motto „rerum cognoscere causas” means „to know the causes of things”. It was chosen to support the School’s founding purpose, „for the betterment of society”. With that in mind, its ambition today is to be the leading social science university with the greatest global impact and a place where ideas are developed, analysed, assessed and shared all over the world.
