The Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center builds on NYU Law’s rich history at the forefront of women’s entry into the law. With a keen focus on leadership development, the BWLC champions gender justice, equity, and inclusion in the legal profession via training, research, cutting-edge conversations, and strategic partnerships.
Developing Leaders — Our Work For and With Students
Our signature Women’s Leadership Fellows Program is a selective co-curricular leadership development program for 1L, 2L, and 3L Fellows, designed to complement and enhance their law school experience. The BWLC also administers the Abby Lyn Gillette Fellowship, an annual stipend awarded to a student who spends their summer internship working to advance women’s rights.
Providing Thought Leadership — Our Public Events
Recognizing that gender parity in the legal profession is inextricably linked with broader gender justice efforts at all levels of society, the BWLC convenes a regular series of public events and an annual symposium highlighting timely and critical issues — from reproductive justice to workplace equity to the integrity of our democratic systems.
Engaging Strategic Partners — Our Commitment to Advocacy
The challenges to equitable leadership in the law and society are too big to be solved by any individual entity — or even any one industry. To make meaningful progress, the BWLC works across sectors with leaders and advocacy partners, in and outside of the legal profession. Together we problem-solve, innovate, and experiment — with a common goal of advancing gender equity across the profession and at the local, state, and national levels. Our leadership team regularly raises our voices in the media — on opinion pages, in news articles, on the airwaves — to influence the public dialogue.
The BWLC also collaborates with other aligned Centers and student groups at NYU Law, including the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging and the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law and the Women of Color Collective and Law Women. These groups operate independently, maintaining their own active events calendar and contributions to the NYU Law community, and are invaluable partners to the BWLC in supporting gender equity at the Law School and beyond.