Sophie’s Pink Dynasty Journey
Hear and read impact stories directly from Pink Dynasty Alumni
Sophie Bennani-Taylor – Pink Dynasty alumna 2014 cohort
Backstory
Can you tell us a bit about yourself? Who are you? When did you join Pink Dynasty?
I’m Sophie Bennani-Taylor. I joined Pink Dynasty in 2014, during my first year at university.
What were you doing or going through at the time?
I had just moved to London for uni and was living on my own for the first time. It felt overwhelming and a bit lonely. I was studying Arts and Sciences, majoring in social science and minoring in maths, and I didn’t yet know where I wanted to take it.
What made you join Pink Dynasty? How did you find out about it?
I heard about Pink Dynasty through an outreach bulletin at UCL.
Career and Life now
What are you doing now, professionally and personally?
I am about halfway through a funded PhD. Returning to academia was not obvious for me, but work experience and finding my interests led me back. I am proud of getting into a PhD programme and before that I was working in a tech company in London that showed me I could adapt to a new environment.
Impact of Pink Dynasty
How did Pink Dynasty shape your journey?
The impact was a slow burn. The programme pushed me to present, work with people, and show up professionally, which built confidence I later used in corporate roles. A key moment was during a Standard Chartered placement when I was asked to speak to a large audience after doing well in smaller presentations. Having that trust helped my confidence in public speaking.
Hear Sophie’s most memorable moment from the PD programme
Pink Dynasty: So what moment or memory from the programme has stayed with you?
Sophie:Yeah, I think on the point of confidence, like for me, there was a really significant moment when we were working, when we did the placement in Standard Chartered, and we'd already done these like group presentations as part of some challenge, like we had to present a business response to something.
So we'd all had an opportunity to present in like a small comfortable setting. And then you asked me to like read something in front of a huge audience with like loads of people from the bank.
And I was, and what surprised me was when you asked me to do that, you were like, Oh, I saw that you spoke really confidently when you were doing the presentations. And it was, I don't know, it really surprised me because I always thought of myself as someone who's like really nervous and bad at public speaking, because I hated it. I found it like so stressful.
I guess having you have the faith in me doing that and like, yeah, giving me the opportunity to do that in front of a much bigger audience was really significant and really stayed with me when it came to like, yeah, confidence and especially confidence in public speaking later on.
Financial Empowerment
How have your views around money and business changed since completing the programme?
I learned the basics of credit through an Experian workshop. Before that, I didn’t know what a credit rating was. It helped to understand how credit works and to talk openly about money, which is often taboo. Many of us signed up to monitor our credit afterwards.
Check out our top 10 financial resources for women:
Personal Growth & Reflection
Hear how Sophie developed confidence during the PD programme
Pink Dynasty: So in terms of the impact of PD, how did the programme shape your journey that's whether in your career, your personal life or financially?
Sophie: I think the main thing it gave me was confidence.
Like it forced me just to present, to like work with people, to be in like an environment where you have to present yourself professionally and confidently.
And I think that really, I really saw the impact of that when I started work.
Like once I graduated, I started working in the corporate sector.
I really felt like those experiences paid off and I felt much more comfortable like volunteering to do things or running meetings or things like that.
What would you say to your younger self starting the programme?
Don’t beat yourself up for not having a fixed plan. You don’t need to force yourself into a box because others seem sure. Be easier on yourself, reach out to people, and learn from conversations. Most people are happy to talk about their work.
Hear Sophie’s personal reflections on her experience with Pink Dynasty
So yeah, I think that was like a really empowering experience is like a, I don't know how odd I was 19 year old, to be in that kind of space where like, I don't know, you're in school and you're always kind of like under the authority of other people. And then you go to uni, you're listening to other people lecture and it was like really unique to be in a space where it was like, oh, you have interesting things to add about this and we can work on these like problems together and you can come to a workplace and actually like offer something.
So yeah, I think it was like a really valuable experience from that perspective.
What would you say to a young woman thinking of joining or someone considering supporting Pink Dynasty?
To a young woman: say yes to opportunities, even if you are unsure. Lack of confidence can hold you back, and you cannot predict how things will unfold. The scheme can help in unexpected ways.
To supporters: Pink Dynasty offers a supportive community that many students do not find elsewhere, especially for those navigating challenging home environments. It is a valuable and distinctive space.
Hear how Sophie’s definition of success evolved
Pink Dynasty: How has your definition of success evolved?
Sophie: I think I'm probably more focused now on just like doing things that make me happy, maybe, and I think that's something that has come with the programme, but also comes with just like age, is like to focus less on things that you think like other people will be impressed by, or like other people are doing, or you think are normal, and maybe to see success is just like being happy with what you're doing on a day to day basis, being like motivated and enjoying what you're doing.
When you come from like a less privileged background, you kind of like can tie success to things that, like I don't know, I remember wanting being like, oh, I'm gonna be rich and I'm gonna buy my gran a house.
You know, like tying your success to these like more traditional measures because you want to see change for your family, for example.
Yeah, sometimes it's more challenging to focus on yourself, even though ultimately like everyone around you will benefit if you're happy as well. But yeah, I do think like background is significant
to like how you see success as well.
Final words
Sophie defines success less by what impresses others and more by being happy and motivated day to day. Background influences how you see success, but looking after your own wellbeing helps everyone around you.
Sophie recognises that Pink Dynasty gave her early exposure, confidence, and tools that she carried into later opportunities. She values the supportive community and the way the programme made space for women who may not otherwise have had it.
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