Gender Equity Leadership Initiative

Gender Equity Leadership Initiative

Our mission is to foster advocacy and leadership skills through training, funding, networking, and mentorship focused on gender equity.

What We Do

We provide opportunities for students to explore leadership skills within the gender equity field. Students can hone their skills, meeting leaders and community partners from around the globe. 
  • Coordination
    Coordinate opportunities for students to explore the field.
  • Events
    Sponsor on-campus events, speakers, and scholars.
  • Networking and Mentorship
    Host opportunities for students to connect with alumni/ae, community partners, speakers, and mentors in the field through BardWorks pathways.
  • Funding and Work Opportunities
    Provide internship and community project based funding through TLS and Community Action Awards. Foster connections with organizations that provide early career experiences for students to explore.
  • Training
    Host trainings with local professionals to help students build concrete leadership skills. 

Apply for Paid Internship at the Center for Civic Engagement's Gender Equity Leadership Initiative

CCE's Gender Equity Leadership Initiative is seeking an intern for the 2025-26 academic year.

The Gender Equity Leadership Initiative fosters advocacy and leadership skills through training, funding, networking, and mentorship focused on gender equity. We coordinate a variety of opportunities by sponsoring on-campus events with numerous speakers and scholars and work to grow student networks by fostering connections between students and speakers, alumni, community partners, and mentors in the field. 

We are seeking a student intern who can do the following:
-- Commit to 5-10 hours a week.
-- Attend biweekly Council for Inclusive Excellence and initiative meetings.
-- Assist in planning, promoting, and coordinating events, including speaker panels, workshops, and networking sessions with scholars, alumni, and professionals.
-- Provide logistical support for on-campus events, including scheduling, venue reservation, and participant coordination.
-- Facilitate connections between students and speakers, mentors, and community partners by managing outreach, communications, and follow-ups.
-- Reach out to local organizations to create new partnerships and foster possible new relationships.
-- Contribute to the Initiative’s marketing efforts through the website, newsletters, and other communication channels.

Deadline to apply is Wednesday, January 15

If this sounds like you, please submit your application via the link to Handshake below:
Apply to Gender Equity Leadership Initiative

2024 Gender Equity Community Action Awardees

Community Action Awards support student efforts to engage with communities locally, nationally, and internationally by providing funding for participation in unpaid internships that address issues impacting people around the world.  All Bard undergrads who have at least one more semester at Bard are eligible, as long as they are pursuing a community-based, public-facing internship in fields relating to gender equity. Photos of the 2024 Gender Equity Community Action Awardees are above.
  • Seymonne Rosenberg 
    “This summer interned at the Dutchess County Pride Center, a place created to give people a place where they can be free to be themselves while also providing support services, education, and advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community with a huge focus on LGBTQ+ youth.  Started by parents whose child came out as transgender, I am inspired by the mission of DC Pride Center and the strides that it has made in garnering a community in the short time it has been in existence.
  • Ariha Shahed
    “I interned at BRAC International, an organization whose mission is to work with people whose lives are dominated by extreme poverty, illiteracy, disease, and other disadvantages. Their vision is of a just, enlightened, healthy, and democratic world free from hunger, poverty, environmental degradation, and all forms of exploitation based on age, sex, and ethnicity.
  • Tara-Jo Tashna 
    “This summer I had the opportunity to work with Connek JA, a queer-centered grassroots organization based in New York and Kingston, Jamaica. During the two months I worked with this small organization, I supported research as well as administrative tasks and worked very closely with the two founders. First I did some research on registering the organization. After advising the founders about the LLC and 501(c)(3) registration processes, I supported them as they registered as a business in the interim before the longer nonprofit registration process.
  • Guy Levy
    “I interned at the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ARCCI), an organization focused on combating sexual violence through advocacy, education, and support, aiming to create safer environments and strengthen victim services. What truly inspires me about ARCCI's mission is their commitment to breaking the silence around sexual violence and advocating for meaningful changes in policy and public attitudes.

Get Involved

  • There are several ways to get engaged with the Gender Equity Leadership Initiative:
    • Visit our website regularly for updates on upcoming events and opportunities
    • Speak with the Career Development Office (CDO) to learn more about available opportunities in the gender equity field, including internships, community projects, and networking events
    • Participate in events to help drive meaningful change and provide valuable experience in advocacy and leadership

Events and Engagements

Through our community engagement efforts, we hosted several events to connect students with opportunities and scholars in the gender equity field. Check out some recent highlights here.
  • Speaker: Professor Carol Gilligan (New York University)
    March 29, 2024
    Professor Carol Gilligan's book talk on In a Human Voice (Polity Press, 2023) attracted an audience of over 100 students and faculty followed by a smaller career oriented talk with students in psychology. The audience was captivated by her theories on gender socialization and the relational nature of humanity. The high volume of questions posed reflected the deep interest and prior engagement with her work. 
  • Harm Reduction Talk
    March 12, 2024
    Yasmin Cader and Lisa Daugaard, co-executive director of policy for the Public Defender Association, led an engaging discussion on harm reduction strategies with a more intimate, focused group of students. Students engaged deeply in the conversation which ranged from general harm reduction questions to Daugaard’s experience at Purpose Dignity Action (PDA), an extensive resource program based in harm reduction in Seattle. 
  • Civil Liberties in America Today
    March 11, 2024
    This event featured Yasmin Cader, ACLU’s deputy legal director, and Leon Bostein, president of Bard College. It facilitated a discussion on civil liberties in the US, providing a platform for students to engage directly with the speakers.

On-Campus Partners

Community Partners

  • BeckHook Pride Strives to support the LGBTQIA+ community members of Rhinebeck, Red Hook, and beyond with activities and programs that promote visibility, equity, and advocacy. 
  • Center for the Women of New York CWNY works to ensure that every woman in the state of New York can thrive. They offer classes, support groups, and workshops to support women’s empowerment and independence, and advocate for gender equality by forging partnerships, participating in women’s marches, and organizing symposia. CWNY helps women in crisis through referrals to social services.
  • Dutchess County Family Services Highlights services for low-income individuals, children, adults, and families. 
  • Dutchess County Pride Offers a wide array of programs for youth and adults in the LGBTQ+ community, as well as a variety of resources. 
  • Working for Women Enables businesses to be a force for social good and elevate women in the workforce.

Want to Learn More?

Reach out to us!