Learn what jobs are available in gender rights, where you can find work in gender rights and how to prepare for these types of careers.
Gender rights are the basic rights and opportunities people deserve regardless of their gender or gender expression. Rights include the right to equal treatment, the right to reproductive freedom and the right to freedom from discrimination and gender-based violence. Women represent the largest group that experiences gender discrimination, but the rights of trans people, two-spirit people, and people with other marginalized genders also need protection. In this guide, we’ll discuss specific jobs in gender rights, where you can find gender rights jobs, how to get a job in gender rights and what salaries are offered.
What jobs are available in gender rights?
Gender rights are a thematic focus, not a specific job. That means there are dozens of careers where you can work on gender rights and gender equality. Here are seven examples:
Educator
Educators conduct research, develop curriculum, manage learning environments, and support student development. Teachers typically work in classrooms teaching young kids, teenagers, and adults. Teacher responsibilities can include creating educational material, meeting one-on-one with students, presenting lessons and helping students develop professional and personal skills. Historically, education has been a site for gender discrimination and inequality. Teachers play a big role in protecting gender rights, whether that’s by educating students on gender discrimination, advocating for gender equality in hiring practices, and taking steps to prevent gender-based violence in educational environments. Educators who spend more time on research can also focus on gender rights.
Doctor
Doctors are medical professionals who work in health facilities, universities, research labs and other settings focused on health and health research. While accessible healthcare is a human right, many people face discrimination and bias based on their gender. As an example, studies show women do not get the same evidence-based care as men in areas like cardiac care and pain management. Transgender people also experience unique challenges, worse health outcomes and other inequalities when it comes to getting health insurance and healthcare. Doctors can play an important role in protecting gender rights by addressing inequalities, specializing in healthcare issues that affect marginalized genders, and advocating for better education and reform.
Lawyer
Women, trans people and people belonging to other marginalized genders face frequent discrimination. They often need legal representation to address inequalities. Legal systems themselves can be biased, so even if the nature of a person’s case doesn’t involve their gender, they can end up marginalized. Lawyers who specialize in gender rights have the same responsibilities as regular lawyers – they interpret laws, research legal issues, advise clients, prepare documents and so on – but they focus on laws, cases and other factors related to gender.
Policy analyst
Policy analysis is a job category related to public policy, political science, statistics, economics, public administration and related fields. Policy analysts study current and potential policies, develop new policy ideas and analyze the impact of policies. They often work for governments, but lobbying groups, universities, advocacy NGOs, consulting firms and similar organizations hire policy analysts. A policy analyst who specializes in gender rights would analyze the impact of policies on different genders, research trends, identify gaps and inequalities, advocate for gender-responsive policies and monitor policies related to gender.
Grant specialist
Grant specialists work in grant management and administration. They often work for NGOs, which depend heavily on grants, but they also work for colleges, research institutions and even individuals. Their responsibilities can include identifying grants for their employer, writing applications, developing budgets, processing grant money and making sure the money is distributed the way it needs to be. Many organizations focused on gender rights need grant specialists to help them find funding for various projects and programs. A specialist needs a thorough understanding of what grants are available for gender rights and what those grants require from candidates.
Consultant
Consultants are experts who work with corporations, governments, NGOs, and any other organizations who want the consultant’s expertise. It’s typically a job for people who have years of experience. Responsibilities can include data collection and analysis of an organization’s gender policies, meetings with stakeholders, help with policy development and marketing, and creating personalized trainings and presentations.
When a consultant specializes in gender rights, they’re usually hired to help an organization achieve gender equality and address issues related to gender discrimination.
Program manager
Program managers work in a variety of industries. In this higher-level role, managers oversee clusters of projects that contribute to the organization’s mission. Their responsibilities can include developing a program’s scope and strategy, managing a team, monitoring a program’s success, and directing communication between a program’s stakeholders. Within gender rights, a program manager could be in charge of an organization’s diversity and gender equality program or work for an organization focused on gender rights.
Interested in jobs focused on gender equality? Here’s our short guide.
Where can you find jobs in gender rights?
Because gender rights aren’t limited to one industry or job type, you can find work at a variety of places. Here are the five main sectors:
Intergovernmental organizations
Intergovernmental organizations are entities that consist of two or more nations who sign a treaty. The United Nations is the best-known IGO. IGOs collaborate on several issues, including gender rights and gender equality. They hire professionals who specialize in gender rights, as well as areas that affect gender equality such as economics, political science, public policy and more. UN Women, which is the UN entity responsible for working for gender equality and women’s empowerment, posts jobs on places like the UNDP job board and its own website.
Governments
Like IGOs, local and national governments work on issues related to gender rights, gender equality, discrimination and so on. There are permanent, temporary and fixed-term jobs at various government agencies, as well as opportunities for consultants who specialize in gender rights. The job platform Gender Jobs has a search category for government jobs at all levels. To work for a government entity, you’ll need to meet all their requirements, which could include citizenship or a right-to-work visa, as well as a security clearance and a background check.
NGOs
NGOs are organizations that are formed independently of a government. They’re usually nonprofits, as well, and tend to focus on humanitarian, international development and social justice issues. Because gender inequality is so widespread, many NGOs focus their work on gender rights, women’s empowerment and related areas. The Malala Fund, Plan International, the Global Fund For Women, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are just five NGOs with jobs available in gender rights. Jobs boards like Idealist.org, Globaljobs.org, and Feminist Jobs can help you find more.
Corporations
Gender equality is good for business, so many corporations are working to improve their gender equality and reduce gender discrimination. Job candidates with the knowledge and motivation to improve gender rights are desirable, while corporations also work with consultants to improve equality in the workplace. Corporations also need lawyers who understand the laws around gender.
Educational and research institutions
Institutions like universities, think tanks, medical research organizations and similar entities perform research on gender rights, discrimination, policies and more. They may be part of intergovernmental organizations, governments, NGOs and corporations, but because they’re focused on research, we’ve included them as their own category. These entities hire researchers, policy analysts, librarians, administrative staff, communications professionals, grant specialists and many others.
Jobs in gender rights deal with gender discrimination. Check out our article on gender discrimination 101.
How do you prepare for a job in gender rights?
The specific job track for a lawyer looks different than for a doctor, but there are three main “must haves” for everyone looking for a job in gender rights: education, experience and skills.
Education
If you want a long career in gender rights, you’ll need a good education. Entry-level jobs typically require at least a bachelor’s degree, while you are likely to need a master’s or even a doctorate for higher-level positions in management. With certain exceptions (like for lawyers and doctors), you likely won’t need one specific degree, but good educational backgrounds include gender studies, sociology, political science, social work, public policy, public health and education. What works best depends on what field you want to go into, i.e. if you want to work as a policy analyst, a degree in public policy is likely your best option.
Experience
Most employers care more about your experience than your area of study or where you went to school. Even entry-level jobs prefer candidates with at least a few years of experience working in the area they’re hiring for. As an example, we found a job for a grants administrator that asked for 3-5 years of similar work, while the experience level in the job description was 0-5 years. Internships, volunteer work, temporary work and part-time work usually count toward your experience, so don’t leave anything off your resume. Education supports your basic knowledge and qualifications, but experience shows employers you can solve problems, work with others, adapt when necessary and complete tasks on time.
Skills
Jobs in gender rights require a variety of skills depending on your chosen field. As an example, a job in policy analysis requires critical thinking, problem-solving, good communication, policy knowledge and excellent research skills. When you look at job descriptions, you may notice how vague some of the required skills are, such as a “willingness to learn from mistakes.” When applying for a job and going through an interview, the challenge is to show this skill in action. Employers don’t want to hear you say, “Yes, I can learn from my mistakes,” they want specific examples that prove you possess this skill.
Loading ...How much do jobs in gender rights pay?
A job’s salary depends on several factors, such as the job type, job position, where the job is based, your education and your experience. Your salary can also vary based on whether you work for an IGO, NGO, government agency, education institution or corporation. Here’s an average rundown of the United States salaries for the jobs we described in this guide:
Educator (teacher): $68,469 for 2022-2023 school year
Doctor (obstetrician and gynecologist): $239,200 in 2022
Lawyer (labor): $100,626 in 2024
Policy analyst: $81,922 in 2024
Grant specialist: $80,163 in 2024
Consultant: $93,905 in 2024
Program manager (nonprofit): $89,816 in 2023
