Careers And Jobs After Gender Studies

Today, Gender Studies is a program that every reputed university offers. That in itself indicates that it is no longer a niche subject that is the domain of narrow specialization. It is a mainstream subject. Gender is related to all domains which concern people – Society, Religion, Law, Economics, Psychology, Business, Healthcare, Science, and Technology. Gender Studies is a part of Liberal Arts and carries a wide range of employability options within multiple kinds of organizations. We’ll talk about what gender studies is, as well as future careers, job prospects, and the scope of gender studies in this blog.

What is Gender Studies?

Gender Studies is NOT the same as Women’s Studies although the study of women is included in Gender Studies. Gender is a wider term about Identity and how society constructs Gender Roles and Expectations which create stereotypes that can become barriers to individual fulfillment. Consider a few simple questions:

• Are girls and boys stereotyped from an early age about who is good at Sports, Science, math, or Cooking?
• How does this affect the future careers of girls and boys?
• Does gender-Bias exclude women from certain jobs assuming that they are not ‘strong’?
• Are men burdened from an early age with pressures about financial success as ‘providers’ of the family? How does this become a barrier to individual preferences if a male wants to opt for a creative career in art, music, or culinary arts? 

Must Read: What is Career Design?

Who Should Study Gender Studies?

• Do you care about being gender-stereotyped and being told that the jobs you can do or the family role you can play should be based on what is assumed by society as Masculine or Feminine?
• Do you want to understand why people’s opportunities and life choices are enabled or ‘dis-abled’ by their being feminine, masculine, or transgender?
• Do you believe that legal rights must go hand in hand with equal opportunity regardless of sex or gender identity?
• Do you care about Equal opportunity and Social Justice for all genders?

If YES, then you are a perfect student for Gender Studies!

What Will I study in a Gender Studies Program?

Scope of Gender Studies

Gender Studies major (undergraduate level) and master’s in Gender Studies are both available at most reputed universities in the UK, North America, Australia, Canada, and some universities in India. Most programs are structured to offer some specific Gender Studies courses. But there will also be courses in Research Methodology, and other courses related to History, Sociology, Psychology, Sexuality, Economics, etc. While doing these courses, a student can choose to write their research papers on gender-related topics. Thus, a composite program in Gender Studies will train you to ask TWO broad questions:

• How do societies and religions perceive female, male or transgender persons? And, how does this PERCEPTION create biases and oppressions indicating what they are capable of and how they should dress, behave, and what sexual orientation is ‘normal’?
• How does this eventually lead to Social Injustice: unequal pay, discrimination in recruitment, laws governing marriage, and even government policy-making?    

What is the Expertise of a Gender Studies Professional?

• Gender Studies teaches Critical Thinking.
• It enables us to understand how “Gender Stereotypes” are used by power structures in  Religion, Politics, and Society to obstruct Equal opportunities.  

Also Read: PhD in Liberal Arts: Scope and Employability

What are the Career and Job Opportunities After Gender Studies?

The domains which offer employment to Gender Studies experts are: 

• Public policy
• International organizations (Research; Analysis; Project manager)
• Journalism — Media organizations (OTT Platforms)
• Law
• UN Agencies (Consultant roles with UNICEF, UNHCR, UNDP, etc)
• MNCs (Consultants/Analysts are employed to uncover how gender-based policies hinder the prospects of women or sexual minorities)
• Human Resources Professionals in businesses/universities
• Social Sector Organizations focusing on Education/Public Health/Community Development
• Academic Faculty at Universities/ Research Centres
• Research Institutes (Overseas or Government-owned)
• Tech teams working on AI (Gender specialists are required to uncover embedded Gender Biases in working of Algorithms, etc.
• Gender specialists also research Refugee Studies, War Crimes, Conflict Zones, etc.

Thus, as a Gender Studies professional you can be an:

Analyst:	Who can review and analyze existing gender biases in policies and laws which obstruct opportunities in a business or an institution
Researcher	: To study and uncover biases in laws, policies, or practices in any organization or country which act as obvious ( or indirect) barriers to marginalized gender groups
Consultant	: To make recommendations to a company or a government to make gender-just policies

Thus, Gender Studies specialists help to change social norms and public policies so that companies, businesses, and organizations can move towards the goal of total Equity and Social justice.  

On a personal note: As a Professor, I have studied and taught Gender Studies at universities in the USA for many years. I have also published several scholarly articles using gender-based analysis. I was able to use Gender Studies in combination with History, Migration, Social Identity,  Anthropology, and so forth. Link: https://sites.google.com/site/mainachawlasingh/researchpublications

This was all about Careers And Jobs After Gender Studies if you are doing Gender Studies,  combine it with a related subject area. This could be anything ranging from Literature, History, or Art to Psychology, Economics, Public policy, Education, Health Studies, Pharma, or even medical research. This will give greater weightage to your Gender Studies specialization and enhance your employability in a wide range of sectors. Good luck! We will be back next Friday with another amazing blog from Dr. Maina Chawla Singh Till then, if you have any questions or suggestions, just drop us a comment and we will get back to you.