Jobs
Career Resources
Career Advisors assist students with self assessment, occupational research, matching interests with WMU majors, resume critiquing, cover letter writing, job search strategies, and interviewing. Examples of questions that students might bring to an advising session are:
- How can I begin to choose a major or find a career goal that fits
me? - What value does career testing have for me?
- What can I do with a particular major?
- Will my choice of a summer job matter in my future?
- How can volunteering or involvement in activities help?
- How do I go about finding an internship?
- How can I use informational interviewing for networking or
exploring majors and careers? - How can I put together a good job search strategy?
- How do I conduct a job search outside of this area, perhaps in
another state? - How can my resume be more effective with employers?
- What shall I do when I feel that I need a career change?
What Can I Do with a Gender and Women’s Studies Degree?
The interdisciplinary nature of Gender and Women’s Studies promotes the development of critical thinking, the ability to examine diverse global issues, and insight into issues of oppression. A major or minor in Gender and Women’s Studies provides an important complement to all fields, including: psychological counseling, social work, communication, journalism, public relations, administration, government, human resources, publishing, teaching, medicine, law, business or criminal justice. The major also provides excellent preparation for graduate study in numerous academic disciplines.
Job resources
Career Opportunities for Women’s Studies Majors – Compiled by Michigan State University.
Feminist Career Center - Job openings listed in the Feminist Majority's Career Center; arranged geographically, with jobs in the Baltimore/Washington area listed first.
Internships
Internships offer an excellent opportunity to gather practical experience in a chosen field. Many national foundations and research centers involved with gender and women’s issues offer internships, throughout the academic year and during the summer. NGO’s (Non-governmental Organizations) and political campaigns also offer invaluable internship opportunities. Many Gender and Women’s Studies agencies are under-funded and short-staffed. If you are interested in an internship with a specific group or organization, contact them to see if you can be of assistance while gaining priceless experience.
Information about upcoming internships can be found through our Links and Resources pages, as well as these popular sources:
American Association of University Women – offers advocacy, research and education funding resources.
Common Ground – works on homelessness and poverty projects.
Emily ’s List – offers opportunities to work on women’s political campaigns.
Feminist Majority Foundation – dedicated to women’s equality, reproductive health, and non-violence.
Global Fund for Women – Advocates for and defends women’s human rights by making grants to support women’s groups around the world.
Institute for Women’s Policy Research – Public policy research organization dedicated to informing and stimulating the debate on public policy issues of critical importance to women and their families.
MS. Magazine – offerseditorial and marketing internships.
National Center for Policy Research for Women and Families - provides news and information about policy research on such issues as social security, breast implants, breast cancer, poverty and welfare, violence, women’s health, children’s health, and work and family.
National Council for Research on Women - Generates, facilitates and promotes visibility for feminist research and analysis and builds stronger links between research, policy, action, and the media.
National Women’s Law Center - provides news, information, and activist alerts.
NOW(National Organization for Women) – advocate for women’s rights through education and litigation.
PLEN (Public Leadership Education Network) – offers seminars and internships to prepare women for public leadership.
WEDO: Women’s Environment and Development Organization - A global activist, advocacy, and information organization
Women’s Enews – offers editorial and marketing internships.
Study Abroad
Traditional gender roles are shifting rapidly around the world. In some areas these changes have been welcomed. As countries address political, economical, social, and environmental transitions gender is a large part of the equation. The Study Abroad experience offers the Gender and Women’s Studies scholar the opportunity to examine issues of gender and its relationship to economics, political movements, society, and empowerment.
For information on WMU study abroad options with a Gender and Women’s Studies focus, contact the Diether H. Haenicke Institute for Global Education
Additional resources
Michigan State University - Women’s Studies in London, England
University of Arizona - Women's Rights, Citizenships, and Identities in a North American Context, student exchange program.
University of Michigan - Women's Study Study Abroad Program