Mission and Vision

Vision

Empower marginalized genders at all stages of their career to reach their full professional and personal potential at Harvard and beyond

Mission

HarvardWIT+ aims to develop an IT community at Harvard that is committed to increasing representation, retention, and advancement of marginalized genders. We achieve this mission through the following initiatives:  

  • Education & Awareness: Promote diversity and inclusivity by providing the IT community with resources and actionable takeaways to advance DIB individually, interpersonally, and institutionally
  • Community Building: Create an inclusive and accessible space that fosters open dialogue about the unique challenges and issues faced by marginalized genders in technical fields
  • Career development: Provide marginalized genders with learning opportunities and growth by facilitating connections with leaders and mentors at Harvard and beyond

Membership

Harvard WIT+ is open to all members of the Harvard community. We strive to amplify the voices of marginalized genders, and focus on how we can advance diversity in tech specifically. 

What do we mean by "Marginalized Genders"?

  • We use the term "marginalized genders" to refer to our community of members who experience marginalization due to their genders. This includes transgender women, cisgender women, transgender men, non-binary people, among many other marginalized gender identities.  
  • We recognize that we also all have multiple identities that affect the ways in which oppressive structures interact to discriminate and marginalize certain groups.
  •  HarvardWIT+ is committed to recognizing structural power dynamics that arise in our spaces.  
    • We hope to address this through our community agreements, focusing on how we can create safer and braver spaces for all of us to discuss diversity, inclusion, and equity while amplifying the voices of marginalized people and their experiences at Harvard.  
    • We think of allyship as a constant process rather than an identity. We ask each of our members to think about how they can be an advocate and actively work towards dismantling oppression systems and structures.
    • We are committed to transparency - we're all on a learning journey and part of that journey is learning how to ensure all members of our community feel safe, heard, and included.

What is a “tech” role?  

  • You do not necessarily need to be a tech-focused role to be a part of HarvardWIT+! We have many members from roles like user designers, to DIB specialists, to HR leads, to administrators.
  • We recognize that many of us use tech in our daily roles, even if it is not the specific focus of our position. All you need to be a member is interest and enthusiasm in advancing DIB in IT and STEM-related fields.