What Can I Do With a WGSS Degree?

Careers That Past Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies Graduates Have Chosen

• Network Administrator - United Healthcare
• Analyst - United Healthcare, Novus Services
• Administrative Associate - League of Women Voters
• Job Developer - Goodwill Rehabilitation
• Supervisor - Rocky Mountain HMO
• Academic Advisor - University of Georgia
• Grants Manager - The Women's Fund of Central Ohio
• Research Advisor - Bank One
• Patient Advocate - NW Women's Center
• Marketing, Research & Promotion - Cox Newspapers
• Attorney - Cook County Public Defender
• Resident Assistant - Thurber Retirement Center
• Real Estate Broker - SAGE Real Estate
• Consultant - Sundance Resort
• Bailiff - Franklin County Municipal Court
• Development Editor - Simon & Schuster
• Technical Writer - LANshark Systems
• Tutor - Americorps, Ohio State University
• Case Manager - Children's Services
• Instructor of English - Columbus State College
• Law Student - CUNY, Capital University
• Correction Officer - Ohio Dept. of Rehabilitation and Correction
• Coordinator:
  • NW Women's Center
  • Friends of the Homeless
  • Amnesty International
  • SARNCO (Sexual Assault Response Network of Central Ohio)
  • Gaia Bookstore
  • Kelly Services
  • Mt. Carmel Health
• Director:
  • League of Women Voters of Ohio
  • American Physical Therapy Association
  • Xavier University of Louisiana
  • Women's Studies, DePauw University
  • Maine Department of Mental Health
• Professor:
  • State University of New York-Plattsburgh
  • DePauw University, Indiana
  • Wellesley College
  • Bates College
  • University of Missouri
  • Montana State University
• Ph.D. Student:
  • Ohio State University
  • University of Illinois at Chicago
  • University of Texas at Austin

What else?

Though women have steadily increased their presence in the business and political worlds, graduates of women’s studies programs can use their insight and experience to provide qualified leadership in a number of positions. Authors Barbara F. Luebke and Mary Ellen Reilly chronicled some of the jobs that Women’s Studies graduates have filled over the past decade.

Public Relations Manager

Companies that want to maintain positive relationships with their female customers have started to recruit public relations professionals with exposure to women’s studies courses. In addition to the strong writing and communication skills that women’s studies majors develop during their academic careers, employers rely on their perspective into female wants and needs. This insight can affect the way that companies launch new products or repair mistakes.

College Professor

Some women’s studies students use their degrees to launch a career in academia. As a burgeoning specialty, many colleges and universities are growing their women’s studies departments to meet growing student demand. Likewise, many women’s studies professors enjoy the opportunity to publish their work in the commercial press instead of solely in academic journals.

Lawyer

Attorneys who complement their law school studies with a concentration or a degree in women’s studies can unlock the potential to work with a variety of specialized cases. As the general public becomes more aware of long-term challenges such as sexual harassment, discrimination, and domestic violence, attorneys who build a reputation for handling sensitive cases can build strong specialty practices.

Legislative Aide

As politicians work harder to court the votes of women, many elected officials have recruited women’s studies majors to their research teams. By viewing current laws and proposed legislation through the filter of women’s history, these specialists can help their representatives to really understand the impact of law on women in their districts.

Human Rights Advocate

Because women in some foreign countries do not enjoy the same liberties as women in the United States, many women’s studies majors campaign for equality and justice around the world. In some cases, students can volunteer or even gain jobs with international rights organizations that monitor the treatment and the advancement of women.

Victims’ Advocate

Some women’s studies students pursue a career that puts them in direct contact with the victims of domestic abuse, hate crimes, or other acts of violence. Victims’ advocates bridge the gaps between law enforcement, the legal community, and medical professionals. Experienced victims’ advocates can help confused and frightened women receive critical medical and legal attention. Victims’ advocates also help their clients remain committed to pursuing criminal prosecution for their abusers, especially in situations where they feel intimidated or shamed for doing so.

Journalist

A women’s studies degree or concentration can provide a student with a valuable and unusual perspective regarding current events. Women’s studies majors can use their writing, interviewing, and research skills to report on issues facing women, as well as on the ways that women impact society. Today’s journalists must assure their audiences that issues facing women deserve as much respect and attention as issues facing men

Archivist

Many companies, communities, and nonprofit organizations rely on archivists to accurately document the actions and the legacies of their institutions. Women’s studies majors can bring their perspective to archivist positions by assuring future generations that the roles of women are not overlooked or understated. In addition, many women’s studies graduates use their roles to reexamine the history of women in organizations, often uncovering new dimensions to history in the process.

Artist or Musician

Many creative professionals use their women’s studies degrees to inspire powerful songs or works of art. The inspiring and sometimes tragic stories of women throughout the centuries can motivate artists to achieve more for themselves, while providing the starting points for retelling or depictions of important stories. Women have made a consistent impact in the arts throughout history, and today’s generation of creators must work even harder to keep that tradition alive.

Business Owner

Many women’s studies majors channel their fiercely independent spirit into careers as entrepreneurs. By understanding the needs and wants of women, they can create companies that solve problems for customers in unique ways. By leveraging their ability to tap into women’s desires, they can grow a range of businesses from bookstores to real estate agencies that allow female clients to be served in exactly the way they prefer.

Nurse-Midwife

The converging trends of high malpractice insurance and the desire for more traditional childbirth experiences have created job opportunities for midwives. Whether helping to deliver children at their patients’ homes or operating from comfortable maternity facilities, women’s studies graduates use their strong communication skills to coach women through this joyous but challenging ritual.

Rape Crisis Program Director

Because they understand the challenges facing victims of sexual abuse, women’s studies graduates make ideal leaders for rape crisis programs. Their knowledge of women’s health gives them the ability to help clients understand the psychological and physical trauma of rape. In addition, women’s studies majors possess the organizational and communications skills to train teams of volunteers and staff members. Program directors must also communicate the importance of seeking treatment to victims who are too afraid to ask for help. To do so, they write articles and make media appearances that encourage victims or their family members to seek confidential assistance.

Union Organizer

Though women have made tremendous strides in business over the last century, many women still work in substandard conditions for unacceptable salaries. Women’s studies majors that work with labor organizations identify employers that exploit women or otherwise fail to provide mandatory health and welfare benefits for their female employees. These activists have successfully lobbied for day care facilities in factories, extended maternity leave, and other important benefits.

Hospital Foundation Executive Director

As hospitals strive to deal with rising insurance rates and cutbacks from government agencies, they rely on strong foundations to provide support for long term improvements and infrastructure. A foundation director with a background in women’s studies can help position medical care centers to appeal to women and to excel in under-served specialties that can rally public support.

Clinical Social Worker

Counselors and other clinical social workers benefit from integrating a women’s studies major or minor into their professional development. Understanding the history and development of women’s roles in society can help clinical social workers provide perspective for their clients. Graduates can use the knowledge from their degree programs to connect clients with the most effective and appropriate resources in their communities.

Health Clinic Coordinator

Working in health clinics allows women’s studies majors to combine their understanding of the social and political aspects of women’s health with their innate organizational and leadership skills. Health clinic coordinators often handle everything from scheduling medical personnel to appealing for funding. At the same time, they must manage relations with neighborhoods that often face conflict with politicians and religious groups.

  
This information was found on http://www.worldwidelearn.com/online-education-guide/social-science/womens-studies-major.htm