Advancing Women, Promoting Change

The Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College is the preeminent gender-focused social science organization in the United States and a member of the National Council for Research. Established in 1974 with Carnegie Corporation funding (and originally known as the Center for the Study of Women in Higher Education and the Professions), the organization has conducted dozens of groundbreaking interdisciplinary studies on a broad range of social issues, including gender equitable education, sexual harassment in schools, gender violence, bullying, gender and justice, women’s human rights, and adult roles in the home and the workplace. The need to focus on these particular areas was identified by mining the diverse perspectives of women from all walks of life. Over the years, the findings produced by the Centers have offered innovative policy alternatives to a wide range of pressing societal concerns and have informed educators, advocates, practitioners, policymakers, and parents both in the United States and around the world.