In 1970, the field of women’s, gender and feminist studies was launched and was able to thrive in the ensuing years. NCRW was established in 1982 to create a supportive network for the burgeoning women’s research movement. Today, there are more than 900 women’s studies programs in the US with more than 10,000 courses offered on college campuses. Much of the curriculum is interdisciplinary and, in many instances, mainstreamed across subject areas. From the social sciences to liberal arts, fine arts and the sciences, feminist theory and framing (especially the intersection of race, gender and class) is having an important impact across disciplines in academia and beyond.
Founded in 2000, as a part of the Roundtable of Institutions of People of Color, the Women of Color Policy Network, an Affiliate of the Research Center for Leadership in Action at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, NYU is the country's only research and policy group focusing on women of color housed at a nationally ranked top 10 public policy program. The Network conducts original research and collects critical data on women of color that is used to inform public policy outcomes at the local, state, and national levels. The Network also serves as a hub for women of color scholars, leaders, and practitioners.
Areas of Expertise:
Diversity & Leadership,
Higher Education,
Leadership in Government, Politics, and Business,
Women's, Gender & Feminist Studies,
Education & Education Reform,
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion,
Women's & Girls' Leadership
Member Experts:
Projects & Campaigns
- Beyond The Window Summer Youth Public Policy Institute
- Strategic Conversations in Public Service
Reports & Resources
- In the Shadow of the UN: The Global North and South in NYC
- Making Ends Meet: Women and Poverty in New York City
- Race, Gender, and the Recession
- Women Of Color In New York City:Still Invisible In Policy
- Women of Color in New York City: The Challenges of the New Global Economy
- Women of Color in New York City and the Millennium Development Goals: The Case for Localization
- Understanding Client and Occupation Barriers in New York City
- Race Realities in New York City
- We Speak: New York City Women Living with HIV/AIDS
- Third Annual Status of Women of Color Report: Young Women of Color in New York City
- Gender, Race, Class and Welfare Reform
The Women & Politics Institute advances the study and discussion of women and politics, promotes opportunities for women in politics, and trains young women to become political leaders. The Institute offers Graduate and Undergraduate Certificates in Women, Policy, and Political Leadership (WPPL) that provide students with the opportunity to take courses taught by nationally recognized experts within their fields, to work in career building internships with women’s organizations and in the offices of women members of Congress, and to attend leadership workshops and lectures featuring distinguished women leaders.
Projects & Campaigns
- Graduate and Undergraduate Certificates in Women, Policy and Political Leadership (WPPL) – This 15-credit hour program provides students with the information and skills they need to be involved in issues in women and politics. The program combines traditional courses that provide students with the theoretical and methodological foundation in the study of women and politics in addition to interactive weekend seminars that feature leading experts in the field working on women’s issues.
- Campaign College: AU Women to Win is the first program in the nation to train college women to run for elected office and to participate in student government on their campus. Campaign College provides students with the necessary skills to be involved in campus politics and hopes to inspire future women candidates for local, state, and national office.
- WeLEAD: Women bringing women to the power center. Run by the Institute’s Young Women Leaders Board, WeLEAD is the only training in the country that specifically works to increase the number of women working in political professions such as congressional and administrative staffing, campaign consulting, and lobbying, as well as encourages young women to run for office. The Young Women Leaders Board is a bipartisan group of women in their late twenties and early thirties who work in politics and actively mentor the participants in the program.
- Women As Leaders – Women as Leaders programs provide delegations of international women elected officials, political activists, business leaders, and judges with the opportunity to meet their U.S. counterparts for cross cultural exchanges. Trainings with women judges have included meetings with U.S. Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Other delegations have met with several women members of Congress. These meetings have fostered strategic international cooperation and a better understanding of issues that face women globally.
Reports & Resources
- O’Connor, Karen, Sarah E. Brewer, and Michael Philip Fisher. 2006. Gendering American Politics: Perspectives from the Literature. New York: Longman.
- McGlen, Nancy, Karen O’Connor, Laura van Assendelft and Wendy Gunther Canada. 2004. Women, Politics, and American Society. 4 th Edition. New York: Longman.
- O’Connor, Karen and Larry Sabato. 2008. American Government: Continuity and Change. 8 th Edition. New York: Longman.
- O’Connor, Karen. Editor. 2005. Women and Congress: Running, Winning, and Ruling. New York: The Haworth Press, Inc.
- Brewer, Sarah E. Editor. 2007. Women and Political Leadership Monograph: Perspectives from Men and Women in Politics. Washington, D.C.: Women & Politics Institute.
