Gender Studies graduates go into a variety of professions within fields such as the media, policy, non-governmental organisations, teaching, the civil service, the arts and trade unions. As well as being interesting, studying Gender opens up good employment opportunities: research conducted in 2002 in nine European countries found that two-thirds of Women's Studies graduates found employment in professional fields. Jobs included equality adviser, representative for an association, secretary, project manager, editor, office manager, researcher, social worker, journalist, archivist, policewoman, museum guide, librarian, planning officer of a programme at university, lecturer, midwife, teacher, child-care worker, co-ordinator, architect, psychologist, and NGO worker.
Graduating with a Gender Studies degree not only increases employability, it also has an impact on aspirations and the type of employment graduates look for. Many students report that it opens up opportunities they have not previously considered. In addition, networking with faculty in Gender Studies can open up opportunities in policy, NGO and private sectors.
Studying gender fosters a number of transferable skills which are of value in the labour market. Students gain insights into society and acquire self-knowledge, and often develop high levels of motivation and political consciousness. They become confident, articulate and aware of issues of discrimination and injustice. Many Gender Studies graduates want to go into jobs where they can make a difference to people's lives. This could mean working in policy or an NGO, being an equal opportunities adviser in the public or private sector, or simply putting theory into practice and introducing Gender Studies principles into any workplace environment. Knowledge of gender inequalities can be applied in almost all jobs! Graduates can use their gender training to help them to work in a more open way, to widen colleagues' views of the world, and to create workplaces which are more gender-sensitive.
It's a degree well worth doing!