Career Outcomes For Women's Studies Graduates
Staff of the Centre for Women's Studies and Gender Research take a particular interest in this issue. Available research indicates that graduates of Women's and Gender Studies programs see both direct and indirect benefits arising from their studies once they enter the labour market. For example, many attribute their skills in communication, critical analysis, and team-work to their experience in Women's and Gender Studies classrooms. Graduates also talk about the ways in which studying Women's and Gender Studies enhanced their self-confidence, a characteristic employers frequently highlight as crucial to success in early career development. Beyond these transferable personal and professional skills, the knowledge that students acquire in Women's and Gender Studies can be applied in a variety of areas. Professionals in the areas of education, economics, policy research, counselling, human resource management, industrial and advocacy work, and the law recognise the benefits of a critical awareness of gender and equity issues in their chosen fields. By promoting an understanding of the many practical problems faced by women and marginalised groups, Women's and Gender Studies can also form an important preparation for careers in government, non-government and community social services for family, health and welfare. The enhanced skills in conceptual thinking and critical analysis that students in Women's and Gender Studies acquire continue to find applications in a wide variety of public and private sector research, administration and management settings.
We are often asked where our Women's and Gender Studies graduates have gone and what sorts of career opportunities they have found. We conducted a research project on Women's and Gender Studies students and careers which you can read about on our 'Research' page Negotiating Feminist Futures: Women's Studies Graduates And The Labour Market . In addition, here are some accounts from our recent graduates about what they are doing now:
- Graduates with Women's and Gender Studies majors
- Graduates with Women's and Gender Studies honours
- Graduates with Masters degrees
- Graduates with Doctorates