Graduate Women at MIT is a student-led MIT organization that promotes personal and professional development for women within the MIT graduate community. As a woman at Media Lab, I am interested in contributing to initiatives that help promote community for women at MIT and at Media Lab in particular. The GWAMIT department representative role for Media Lab serves as a bridge between Media Lab and the resources offered by GWAMIT, so I decided to take on the position and initiate a kickoff event for ML Women.

In spring semester 2013, GWAMIT (Graduate Women at MIT) provided a small amount of funding for department reps to hold events. I decided to use the funding to host a small informal gathering for Media Lab women – over desserts and petit fours, we had insightful discussions about diversity within Media Lab, communication, outreach, and a desire for building a stronger and closer community amongst women at the lab. It was a great event to begin these types of discussions and bring together women from many different research groups. Our discussions primarily focused on:

• Organizing more casual/informal social events
• Communication & recruitment
• Support and resources for families
• Mentorship
• Creating avenues of discussion for women’s/diversity issues

Going forward, I hope that Diversity@ML will serve as a platform for organizing more events and cultivating the women’s community at Media Lab and beyond.