Disclosure: Human Rights Careers may be compensated by course providers.

Columbia University launches Course on Women’s Rights

Learn how women stood up to fight for gender equality, political participation and economic fairness.

In this free online course on Fighting for Equality you will explore the rise of the feminist movement from the early 1960s until today. Throughout history women have challenged discrimination and prejudice that severely affected their rights. This course is an exploration into the evolution of the feminist movement.

Register now

In this course Columbia University will take you on a journey, from the early 1960s until the contemporary #MeToo movement. You will explore women’s participation in activism and how gender-based discrimination encouraged women to voice their discontent about traditional gender roles.

You will discover how women have disrupted archaic systems of thought and how they questioned gendered interpretations of freedom, equality and democracy. You will be confronted with the bias and discrimination women were facing based on their race, class or citizenship and learn about the strategies women developed in their defence.

Together with your peers you will gain insights how women mobilised while fighting for equality and how grass roots activism led by women aimed at changing social and economic inequalities.

Throughout the course you will explore how women’s lives have changed over the course of history and how women have altered American history by resisting, petitioning, campaigning, and organizing.

You will also learn how Elenore Roosevelt joined the peace movement and took part in the writing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights setting the ground for the human rights movement today.

The course features professors, scholars and think-tanks from Harvard University, Columbia University, University of Minnesota beside feminist writers, research analysts, students and historians.

This online course, which is taught entirely in English, takes approximately 10 weeks to complete and requires a commitment of 2-3 hours per week. While the course contents are available for free, you may opt-in for a verified certification issued by Columbia University for an extra fee.

You can register yourself, learn at your own pace and start instantly.

Register now

About the author

Robert Fellner

Robert is founder of Human Rights Careers (HRC). A platform with the aim to support human rights students, alumni, graduates and professionals in pursuing and developing their career in human rights. Prior to launching HRC, Robert worked as Global Human Rights EdTech Manager at Amnesty International in London and as consultant for international human rights organizations globally. During 2011 and 2012, Robert worked as lecturer at Ain Shams university in Egypt. Robert has a masters in literature and human rights.