Executive Summary
Read the full 2024 Executive Summary
2024 Key Findings
The Pulse Survey on Inclusion & Belonging was administered in the fall of 2024. It’s an important part of Harvard’s continuing efforts to set data as the foundation of our inclusion and belonging work. The survey is designed to take a high-level “pulse” (not an MRI!) of the entire campus community. The survey results are intended to inform further data collection and other activities among Harvard’s schools, units, and groups tailored to their communities. It is also available to help identify and inform responses to potential areas of improvement.
All members of the Harvard campus community were invited to take part, and approximately 20% submitted a response. The survey included a thorough demographic questionnaire and prompts that examined four dimensions of inclusion and belonging:
- Sense of value;
- Acceptance and integration;
- Connection across difference; and
- Supportive assets.
A few of the survey’s high-level findings include:
Most members of the Harvard community report positive experiences of inclusion and belonging campus-wide and across roles. The two areas with the highest levels of positive responses:
- Large majorities of respondents strongly agree, agree, or somewhat agree with the statement, “I feel like I belong at Harvard” including 78% of students, 81% of staff, and 75% of faculty and academic personnel.
- Respondents also generally report feeling respected, including 80% of students, 79% of staff, and 74% of faculty/academic.
Two primary areas for potential improvement:
- The portion of respondents who report feeling comfortable sharing their opinions with others was 68% of students, 68% of staff, and 62% of faculty/academic.
- The portion of respondents who report having formed relationships with people holding different views was 66% of students, 59% of staff, and 59% of faculty/academic.
On specific aspects of inclusion and belonging, there is wide variation between the campus-wide response and responses from subsets of community members. This is evident in some cases when comparing the responses between roles, and in other cases when comparing responses among certain identity groups. Such gaps warrant further study and represent opportunities to realize a greater experience of inclusion and belonging among members of the University community.
Access the full 2024 final report, including detailed data tables and methodological notes.
Data Charts
See the full data tables for detailed information.
