Our Mission
New England Graduate Women in Science and Engineering (NE GWiSE) is an alliance between GWISE groups from universities across New England. We are joining together to support and celebrate women and gender minorities in STEM fields, to increase awareness of the issues we face, and create change within our community. We support ideas and actions to increase diverse gender representation in STEM, create fair and positive workplace environments, increase the support and mentorship that graduate students receive, and enact equitable university and federal policies.
All members of the graduate community are welcome to join our membership and attend our events.
We strive to accomplish Our Mission through the following actions:
Strengthen the connections between Consortium groups
Provide a community for students of schools without women in STEM organizations
Provide programming and resources that no one or two Consortium groups could feasibly accomplish on their own
our history
Inception
February 2017 — Initial Meeting
In February 2017, leaders from seven individual GWISE groups in New England met to discuss their work and how their groups functioned.
At this meeting, they realized that each group had a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. By regularly connecting the groups and working together on specific initiatives, we could do so much more for women in the New England academic community.
The idea to form a collective was born!
Building the COLLECTIVE
August 19, 2017 — Inaugural Retreat hosted by Boston University
Forward to the summer of 2017. Member GWISE groups planned the Inaugural Retreat to set the priorities and initial structure of the collective. After an incredible day of getting to know each other and brainstorming what they could accomplish as a group, they formed a plan.
In fall 2017, the first Executive Board of New England Graduate Women in Science & Engineering (NE GWiSE) set out to improve the culture for graduate women and gender minorities in STEM.
Learn more about the Inaugural Retreat here.
NON-PROFIT STATUS
In January 2018, NE GWiSE was approved as a 501(c)(3) non-profit by the IRS.
spring to action
In March 2018, we held our first Spring to Action — an advocacy event focused on discussing policies and initiatives to improve the climate at our universities as well as strategies for their implementation. This edition of the event focused on Title IX and was entitled “Beyond breaking the silence, building a collective: A gender-inclusive forum on sexual harassment in higher education.”
Learn more about our 2018 Spring to Action here.
2018-19: Power Dynamics and Mentorship
During the 2018-2019 school year, our programming focused on navigating power dynamics and the importance of finding — and being — good mentors in academia.
The summer retreat, now an event focused on professional development and networking, was entitled “Navigating Power Dynamics and Building Confident Mentalities.”
Learn more about our 2018 Summer Retreat here.
The Spring to Action event of 2019 was titled “Roles and Relationships: A Summit on Mentorship in Grad School and Beyond.”
Learn more about our 2019 Spring to Action here.
NE GWiSE created an advisory council of key administrators, professors, and professionals within and beyond our member universities. We continue to draw upon their experience and insight to improve our organization and to develop our strategic plan. Our first meeting was on June 11, 2019.
2019-2020: Diversity, Inclusion, and Intersectionality
In the 2019-2020 school year, NE GWiSE events focused on issues related to diversity, inclusion, and intersectionality. The summer retreat was titled “Empowering Individuals to Foster an Inclusive Campus Climate.” Unfortunately, Spring to Action 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Learn more about our 2019 Retreat here.
2020-2021: Virtual series
Due to the ongoing pandemic, we pivoted to hosting a virtual monthly series continuing the focus on diversity, inclusion, and intersectionality from the previous year. This series was entitled “Building Inclusive Communities” and covered topics ranging from creating inclusive and safe spaces for minority and first generation students to advice for graduate student community builders. Several of these events were recorded so please check them out on our YouTube channel!
Learn more about our virtual series on our events blog.