Looking to nurture your personal and professional development while improving women’s health and wellbeing? Consider joining one of these inspirational student organizations!

Through grants and awards, 4W Initiative supports the development of scholarship and leadership in gender and wellbeing at all career stages, from undergraduate to established researchers. You can read more about the work of our awardees here.

Dr. Carnes has worked to make STEMM fields (science, technology, engineering mathematics, and medicine) more diverse and academic culture more inclusive.

UW Madison’s Center for Research on Gender and Women is part of a three-institution consortium on women and peacebuilding. The research addresses three themes: Inclusion and Exclusion of Women in Postconflict Governance; Women Activists’ Informal Peacebuilding Strategies; and Women’s Legal Rights as a Site of Contestation in North Africa

In Human Rights Approaches to Climate Change, Sumudu Atapattu describes how climate change will exacerbate existing inequalities and vulnerabilities. Gendered power differentials in many parts of the world already result in disproportionate workloads, higher levels of poverty, and greater human insecurity for women, disparities that are likely to be aggravated by climate-induced migration and extreme weather events.

The WKDL offers lists of resources, including websites, reports, articles, research, and audiovisual materials, that are available to students and researchers across the UW system as well as the general public. These lists are curated by topics ranging from Aging to Female Genital Mutilation to Zines.

Our environmental commons project focuses on ways to educate younger generations about of the fundamental interdependence of humans with one another and with other species and life forms, as well as intersectional issues of identity (including gender) and power and about how our collective choices as humans impact the wellbeing of current and future generations of humans and species we may never meet. Connie Flanagan is conducting a mixed methods study of the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative (GLSI) and the Southeastern Michigan Stewardship (SEMIS) Coalition’s Place-Based Stewardship Education (PBSE) model with several hundred K-12 students, most of whom are from ethnic minority and low-income backgrounds.

“One Health” refers to the interdependencies of health among humans, animals, and shared ecosystems. The Women and One Health effort is a cluster of interrelated projects that employ participatory methods and women- and girl-centered approaches to contribute to educational programs and assessment methods, and to inform the research agenda. The projects explore the various ways that women can achieve equity and well-being, as they contribute to agricultural productivity, animal welfare, family economics, and health

The Earth Science Women’s Network (ESWN) is an international peer-mentoring network of women in the Earth Sciences, many of whom are in the early stages of their careers. Their mission is to promote career development, to build community, to provide opportunities for informal mentoring, and to support professional collaborations. Providing more opportunities for women to advance in science supports discovery, innovation, and gender equity.

Leadership in Women’s Philanthropy builds on the historic role that UW-Madison has played in women’s philanthropy. This research and networking effort will explore and articulate future directions in women and philanthropy and provide ongoing networking, locally and nationally.

The Arts and Wellbeing project recognizes the importance of the arts in personal and social transformations and as a critical part of individual and social health and well-being. Working to support the many efforts at UW-Madison, including the Arts Institute’s Interdisciplinary Artists in Residence Program, and in collaboration with various units across campus, we seek to develop opportunities for visiting artists and artists in residence to expand their reach and programming both on campus and in local communities.

The Declaration Initiative marshals evidence from the health and social sciences to document current and historical inequalities in precursors to successful and full participation in contemporary American society, basing its framework on the rights guaranteed by the Declaration of Independence: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The Global Artisans Initiative strives to empower artisans and their families through the promotion of their handcrafts, which support community well-being and strengthens cultural heritage. We engage the Madison community with artisans from around the world in collaborative projects and a horizontal learning exchange.

The MORE (Money + Relationships + Equality) Initiative was created to establish equality for women and men in relationships, family life, and financial decision making, while embracing the central questions of self-worth, purpose and meaning-making throughout the life course. MORE educates women and men of all ages, in classroom settings and beyond, with the understanding that full equality for women cannot be accomplished without education and behavior change of the men with whom they partner. MORE is founded on the Wisconsin Idea principles of outreach, research and education.

STREETS (Social Transformations to End Exploitation and Trafficking for Sex) is contributing to the end of human trafficking through education and action research that is grounded in the perspectives and preferences of survivors.  Activities include education and outreach through courses, mentoring, internships and research; improving practice in service provision for survivors and outcome measurement; creating local and global women-centered partnerships; developing training tools and other online resources; influencing policy and the strategic targeting of funding for effective interventions; and exploring how technology may be used in innovative ways to identify and support women and girls affected by trafficking or other forms of gender-based violence.