The HarvardWIT Mentoring Program graduated its first cohort on May 22, 2019. The graduating group included 20 pairs matched across 16 Harvard organizations, representing a true “One Harvard” community effort. The six-month all volunteer program included full cohort meetings with CWD facilitators, Strengths Finder Assessments, monthly meetings of the pairs, and occasional informal drop-in sessions.
The program pilot was enabled through a President’s Administrative Innovation Fund grant, highlighting the importance of a diverse and inclusive community among the technology teams that support the University’s mission of teaching, learning, and research excellence. The fundamental goal of the HarvardWIT mentoring program is to increase the retention and promotion of women in IT roles across Harvard, providing more gender diversity to this staff population. The core working group who managed this first cycle are now collecting and analyzing initial data to measure immediate results and planning how to support and sustain future cycles.
HarvardWIT Mentoring Program launched on November 14, 2018
With the assistance of a President’s Administrative Innovation Fund grant and two program advisors from the CIO Council, HarvardWIT kicked off the first cohort of a University-wide mentoring program for women in IT-related roles. On November 14, 2018 we brought together 21 pairs of mentees and mentors spanning more than 10 “tubs.” Congratulations to all our participants and the dedicated working group that made this possible!
Measurable goals for the program include:
- Increased confidence levels in post- versus pre-program surveys for participants
- Increased engagement levels in post- versus pre-program surveys for participants
- Higher percentage of women applying for open IT positions at Harvard
- Greater number of professional connections across Schools/tubs
- Increasing percentage of women in IT roles at grades 57-59 through improved retention, recruitment and career advancement practices over time
-Sandy Silk
HarvardWIT receives PAIF award, July 2018
I’m delighted to share our news that the HarvardWIT Mentoring pilot program was one of eight projects, from the pool of 33 applicants, selected to receive a grant this year from the President’s Administrative Innovation Fund! In addition to “seed money” to get our pilot running this year, we will also have two project advisors assigned to guide our efforts. A brief overview of the program is below, and we will be communicating about the application process for this first cycle soon. This grant award from the President’s office underscores the importance to the University of improving inclusivity and diversity within IT, and we’re so thrilled to have this project included with the others receiving awards!
Overview: The fundamental goal of the HarvardWIT mentoring program is to increase the retention and promotion of women in IT roles across Harvard, providing more gender diversity to this staff population. A secondary benefit will be increased volume and placement of new women-identifying applicants into Harvard IT roles.
This program will be offered to women across all parts of Harvard, including affiliates and trades groups, who identify themselves as holding roles in which IT skills/work are a critical component and intending to pursue an IT-related career. This broad audience may not be eligible for professional development programs within their own groups, particularly if they are not managers or if they are below a certain grade level. We will be able to match mentees and mentors across organizational boundaries.
See full list of recipients and project descriptions here:
https://innovationfund.evp.harvard.edu/2018-2019-paif-fund-recipients-1
-- Sandy Silk