Women's History Month

Celebrating Women’s History Month

As staff members, then as students and faculty, the women of Harvard paved the way for the next generation, and continue to carve new paths today.

A complicated history

While women weren’t taught at Harvard until 1879, they have always been a part of the University.

Yesterday’s pioneers

I am not the first woman who ought to have been called to Harvard.”

Alice Hamilton

First woman on the faculty at Harvard

Read more about Alice Hamilton

A late 1800s black and white photo of women in a classroom with blackboards

Star analysts of Harvard

In the late 19th through the mid-20th century, these women classified the stars, determined their brightness, and discovered new stars, nebulae, and novae.

Patricia Albjerg Graham

Leading a faculty

Elisabeth Lyell Anthony

Early museum expert

Emily Thornton Gage

First woman at Harvard Divinity

A black and white photo of a woman holding a graduation cap on her head outside a building with a cross on it

Linda Frances James

Public health pioneer

Black and white photo of two men and a woman

Dolores Mercedes Franklin

Leader in oral health policy

Today’s leaders

The first step to being seen as a leader is to be seen at all.”

Pamela Chen

Creator of “Women Before Me,”
portraits of Harvard Medical School alumnae

Read more about the artist and exhibit

Women making history

These extraordinary women at the Wyss Institute are changing the world.

Melanie Wood

First woman to win the Waterman Award in math

Melissa Shang

Raising awareness about disability during the pandemic

Emily Wilson

First woman to publish an English translation of "The Odyssey"

A woman sits at a table with copies of a book entitled "The Odyssey" next to her

Amanda Gorman

Inaugural U.S. youth poet laureate

Amanda Gorman speaks at President Biden's inauguration

Making strides

Showcasing ambition

A study co-authored by Sparsha Saha, political scientist and Harvard lecturer, found that American voters don’t penalize women who they see as ambitious.

Read the Harvard Gazette article

Increasing visibility

Women are working to boost the profiles and share the experiences of Black women in privacy and cybersecurity, domains long dominated by white men.

Read the Harvard Gazette article

Moving up the ladder

Research shows that mergers shake up the status quo at companies and help women and people of color move up the ladder.

Read the Working Knowledge article

More hills to climb

Minefields for women and family

In her book, “Career and Family: Women’s Century-Long Journey toward Equity,” Professor Claudia Goldin traced five generational groups of college-educated women across 120 years.

Read the article

Women less inclined to self-promote

Research by Harvard Business School’s Christine Exley indicates that women's reluctance to self-promote, compared to men’s, may be more persistent than previously understood.

Read the article

Women less assertive in large classes

A study found that women and men physicians participate differently in academic settings, potentially contributing to gender biases that disadvantage woman students.

Read the article

Black women aren’t paid fairly–and it starts early

From age 16, Black girls are consistently paid less than boys, and the disparity follows them throughout their careers.

Read the article

Women physicians are quitting

Huge numbers of women physicians are cutting back or quitting and taking jobs that offer them more flexibility in terms of hours and the ability to work from home. This withdrawal is creating a crisis for health care organizations, one that may deepen in the years ahead if it isn’t addressed.

Read the article