Cabinet of Women's Group Leaders Will Relaunch in October

The Harvard College Women’s Center will relaunch the Women’s Cabinet, a group consisting of leaders from the College’s women-focused organizations, this October. The cabinet will meet once a month to discuss issues around women and gender on campus.

According to Eesha Khare ’17, one of the student leaders developing the Women’s Cabinet, the group will address topics including Harvard’s final clubs, the Hasty Pudding Club, and the recently published results of the sexual conduct climate survey.

These discussions come shortly after the Spee Club, one of Harvard’s final clubs, announced it would invite women to participate in its punch process for the first time this fall.

A well-lit wall displaying photos from various Women’s Center events leads the way to the Women’s Center door at the basement of Canaday B. The Women’s Center is slated to re-launch the Women’s Cabinet, an organization of the College’s women-focused group leaders that will discuss women and gender issues. By Y. Kit Wu

Khare said the Spee’s decision to go co-ed highlights the need for different women’s groups to have a constructive dialogue together about these issues.

“In my opinion it’s actually really hard to get a single opinion from women’s groups on campus,” Khare said regarding women students’ reaction to the Spee’s move to add women.

“There are a range of opinions that we often don’t get to hear about,” Khare said, adding that the Women’s Cabinet will help give the Women’s Center a broader understanding of issues concerning female students.

For her part, Naisha Bradley, the director of the Harvard College Women’s Center, said she is excited about “bringing light to the issues that are on women’s minds here and strengthening the voice of women” across different classes, races, and religions.

“What I’m trying to do is allow the Women’s Cabinet to be a restorative space for those students,” Bradley added.

Although women’s groups are still in the process of joining the Women’s Cabinet, Bradley said about 21 groups on campus have expressed interest in participating.

According to Elaine Dai ’17, another student leader who is organizing the cabinet, student groups have until Monday to apply for membership.

In order to strengthen the voice of women at Harvard, the Women’s Cabinet will be “sharing best practices for organizational longevity, providing funding for cosponsored programming, and increasing dialogue amongst women students to build bridges of understanding across areas of interest,” according to its website.

The Women’s Cabinet’s first official meeting will take place on Oct. 19. The cabinet will host an initial welcome event on Oct. 15.

—Staff writer Kristina D. Lorch can be reached at kristina.lorch@thecrimson.com.