The EPFL Alumni Women’s Club: five years of commitment to supporting female graduates

The EPFL Alumni Women’s Club celebrates its fifth anniversary in 2025. Founded in 2020, it aims to provide female graduates of the School with development opportunities and to support them in their careers.

On December 10, 2020, the Club hosted its very first online networking event. “A powerful moment: the experiences and values I had shared with my friends were now being echoed across EPFL’s female graduates. The spark was lit,” recalls Emma Lejal Glaude, who attended the event and is now a member of the committee.

A dynamic environment for female graduates

The creation of the Club was prompted by a simple observation: the number of female graduates at EPFL had grown significantly. Today, there are more than 10,000 alumnae, making up nearly 30% of the most recent graduating classes, compared to just 8% in the 1980s. Despite this progress, engineering and technology remain largely male-dominated fields, and challenges persist. The Women’s Club was established to provide a supportive space where graduates can connect, share experiences, and support one another. “The Club offers much more than a professional network. It’s a space for dialogue where we can discuss a wide range of topics, exchange practical advice, and contribute to career development,” explains Lola Saugy, Club president since 2023.

The Club’s activities extend far beyond French-speaking Switzerland: a chapter has been launched in Zurich, a LinkedIn group facilitates ongoing exchanges, and numerous online events are accessible to alumnae all over the world.

Five years of success and initiatives

Since its inception, the Club has organized nearly thirty events — workshops, conferences, panel discussions, support groups, and informal meetups. Topics have ranged from salary negotiation and burnout management to workplace inequalities and welcoming recent graduates into the community. The events have been well received: a March 2023 workshop on empowerment drew around one hundred alumnae, while another in January 2024 on financial management attracted nearly 300 participants.

An ambitious 2025 ahead

Building on these successes, 2025 promises to be a standout year. In March, an event centered around Game Ovaire, a book by EPFL graduate and science journalist Lucia Sillig, tackled sexist narratives in science. Many more events are already planned, including a panel on leadership. The Women’s Club is also developing a podcast project highlighting the careers of EPFL alumnae. “We’re passionate about showcasing the diversity of our graduates’ career paths and demonstrating just how many opportunities are available to EPFL women,” say Lola Saugy and Emma Lejal Glaude.

Five years in, one thing is clear: this is only the beginning!

👉 Join the Club on the epflalumni platform

👉 Join the Club's LinkedIn private group

The EPFL Alumni Women's Club 2025 committee

	Lola Saugy (MA’18)		Joséphine Bonvin (BSc GC'14)
	Emma Lejal Glaude (DS’19)		Valentine Magnin (PhD MX'20)
	Anita Maric Fasel (SIE'08)		Astrid Petitjean (MT'18)
	Manon Poffet (GM'20)