Harvard GlobalWE logo for 10 year anniversary

Welcome to the launch of our year-long celebration of 10 Years of Harvard GlobalWE! Join us in both familiar and new programs that trace our evolution and point us forward!

Harvard GlobalWE Roundtable on Fashion in PBH Parlor on campus in Cambridge in 2020, with people dressed in business clothes and wearing name tags seated behind a table with a Harvard banner
Harvard GlobalWE board meeting on Zoom in May 2022
Harvard GlobalWE expo with a person standing behind their organization's table with materials displayed
Harvard GlobalWE event with a large group sitting in a circle
Harvard GlobalWE event on Zoom with attendees and featured speaker wearing a headwrap
Harvard GlobalWE event with people standing and holding up banners

Welcome to our official 10th Anniversary webpage! 

Please join us as we celebrate how far Harvard GlobalWE has come, with so many of you along for the ride. We were officially recognized as an HAA SIG in October of 2013, and we will be looking back to those early days and recalling the people and events and programs that started us off, and on to those memories from throughout this past decade. 

Please check here often for updated  information about our anniversary events, about ways for you to share your favorite programs, most memorable speakers, most enjoyable discussions, and most lasting inspirations.  And as we move forward together these next ten years, we'll keep convening on this new website to learn, share, and grow together on our mission to empower women globally. 

Thank you for your commitment.  Thank you for being part of Harvard GlobalWE.

Harvard GlobalWE President Leah Keane

From our president, Leah Abaya Keane:

Our Mission


Harvard GlobalWE is a shared interest group of the Harvard Alumni Association. We are dedicated to the empowerment of women through education, dialogue, and connection among individuals working for women's rights and freedoms worldwide. Harvard GlobalWE does not advocate a specific ideology or agenda; rather, we highlight and raise awareness about issues concerning women's empowerment worldwide, including but not limited to education, political rights, freedom from violence, women's health, and economic empowerment.

Greetings from the Board

Retrospective Panel: GlobalWE After 10 Years.

Flagship Program: Student Essay Contest

β€œWhat is the biggest challenge

facing women and girls in your country today?”

  • In a world where only the most tangible things can be characterised as real, as existing, we often forget that challenges can also come from within, from places which we easily ignore. In China, the greatest challenge that women and girls face is the language formed through the ancestral ideology: γ€ŒδΈ‰εΎžε››εΎ·γ€1.”

    The Burdens of Prejudice Embedded in the Chinese Language by Dabria Chu, Hong Kong

  • Anti-feminists continue to prosper...without understanding the true meaning of feminism, which is to balance men and women, not raise women over men.

    The Political Implications of Rising Anti-Feminism by Sea-A Oh, South Korea

  • Pencils are powerful weapons. Powerful enough to protest, to point out the insidious poison in our culture. Powerful enough to present an alternative.

    Change The Lyrics by Tamara Bafi, France

  • Given a chance for women to ascend into professional positions, they will take it, and they will shine. Unless we fight for change, the fallacious stereotype will persist, locking society's young girls into a future of lost opportunity.

    Qualified, Capable, and Held Back by Annmarie Hashimoto, Japan

  • Only when women of all positions and classes can access schools and feel safe and secure within them will they be able to harness their own innate potential. Women become unstoppable when they know that they deserve better.

    Unlearning: The Unequal State of Filipino Education by Maya Tuviera, Philippines

  • Half of Sudan’s female population is restricted to the minimal selection of professions that don't require an education. These jobs, on average, provide lower economic compensation, fewer benefits, and inferior working conditions. The absence of primary education for girls is a pressing issue as it alters the course of their entire life.

    Parallel Lives by Serene Elmusharaf, UAE

2023 GlobalWE Essay Contest Winners!

The GlobalWE Essay Contest was established to invite students to think critically about the status and rights of women. In most regions, we work in partnership with local schools. The contest is open to 11th-grade students around the world. Students from 31 countries have participated in the Essay Contest so far.

Students write an essay responding to the question: β€œWhat is the biggest challenge facing women and girls in your country today?” We choose winners each year to celebrate students’ powerful reflections on this critical question. Please join us in congratulating all winners of the 2023 Essay Contest, and read their inspiring and thought-provoking essays below.

List of 2023 Winners

  • Abdullah Mohamed, Egypt

  • Amanda Siy

    Lucas Bakker

    Wynette Kristi Chua

    Janine Hung

    Risha Sam Sy

    Miktam Martinez

    Arianne Nicole De Leon

    Julia Adelle David

    Shawn James Maravilla

  • Deanna Pearlynn Wong Ann Rei

    Kit Hoi

    Chloe Pang Kai Yi

    Su Tze Ching

  • Serene Elmusharaf

  • Nora Koutooupes Guessous

    Allison Hayes

    Luran Yu

    Sophia Memon

Our initiatives

Women's Empowerment Expo

Harvard GlobalWE expo in 2017 with people wearing name tags standing behind a table with a Harvard banner

The Women's Empowerment Expo creates opportunities for organizations supporting women and girls to engage with Harvard University's community for internships, volunteering, mentoring, career exploration, and charitable giving.

20+ Participating organizations in every Women’s Empowerment Expo

5 Continents where women and girls are served by these organizations

Watch our featured video!

Our initiatives

Fireside Chat Series

Harvard GlobalWE fireside chat event with CAMFED describing their multiplier effect

The Women’s Empowerment Fireside Chat Series features dialogues with senior leaders of organizations serving women and girls worldwide about the challenges and opportunities they encounter in a rapidly-changing world.

  • 1 Feb 2023 Vital Strategies: A Discussion with Sharon Kim-Gibbons, Vice-President, Public Health Programs

  • 3 Dec 2022 Special Needs Initiative for Growth: A Discussion with Racheal Inegbedion, Founding Executive Director

  • 25 Jun 2022 CAMFED USA: A Discussion with Brooke Hutchinson, Executive Director

  • 12 Mar 2022: Women for Women International: A Discussion with Laurie Adams, CEO

  • 25 Sep 2021: BRAC & BRAC USA: A Discussion with Donella Rapier, CEO, and Rozina Haque, Program Head

Our initiatives

Student-Alumni Roundtable

Harvard GlobalWE first student-alumni roundtable with people wearing name tags, mostly sitting, with one person standing next to a table with materials and water bottles

The Student-Alumni Roundtable is a more intimate event that allows our students and alumni to both hear from experts on current and relevant topics and to engage in dialogue with these speakers, as well as in discussion with their fellow audience members.

  • 19 Feb 2022: Women Creating Impact Through Entrepreneurship

  • 21 Feb 2021: The Impact of COVID on Women

  • 8 Feb 2020: Clothing & Women’s Oppression, Exploitation, and Empowerment

  • 9 Feb 2019: How Women are Reshaping a Polarized Media

  • 10 Feb 2018: Sexual Harassment, Assault, Misconduct and #MeToo

Commemorating a Decade of GlobalWE Events!

Click the button to view our past activities.

Harvard GlobalWE retrospective panel flyer for the Zoom event on November 12

Retrospective Panel: GlobalWE After 10 Years

November 12

Virtual meeting

On November 12, please join us on Zoom for a conversation with our Presidents Emeritae Julie Palmer (2013-2018) and Sajida Shroff (2018-2022), early board members and current Advisory Council members Paul Schied and Rebecca Ribaudo, and current president Leah Abaya Keane.  This dialogue about GlobalWE’s history and growth, as well as its future trajectory, will be moderated by Chuck Bergen, another Advisory Council member.  Learn about our journey and share your own memories of engaging with us!

Harvard GlobalWE donation request with logo in a heart-shaped globe to support women's empowerment

Some of you have been with us for 10 years, and most probably for fewer years.  What has your journey with Harvard GlobalWE been like?  Whether you’ve walked alongside us as we grew or only started to engage with us after our programs and structure had expanded and organized, we hope you’re willing to re-enlist for continued and deeper engagement with our mission. 

Harvard GlobalWE hardcover collection of winning essays

Membership continues to be free, but our aim is that your enjoyment of GlobalWE moves you to assist with the rising operational costs for our growing projects as we extend our reach even further. Please consider a voluntary contribution!  May we suggest $10 for every year you’ve been a Member or Friend, or for each event that you’ve attended? We continue to offer a thank you gift for donations of $99 or more: a beautiful hardcover collection of the winning essays from the first five years of our contest for high school students. Can’t commit to this amount right away? Consider a monthly donation of $10 or more and receive our book after completing your donation amount of $99.

Commemorate your own anniversary with GlobalWE with a donation!

Follow our journey

Thank you for joining us in our mission!

Please contact us with any questions!

Are you connected with Harvard GlobalWE and its volunteer opportunities?

Do you have event suggestions or inquiries?