Career Resources for Women

The Cawley Career Education Center is a space where students and young alumni can ask questions related to all aspects of their personal career development. We provide a supportive and nonjudgmental environment because we know how often personal identity affects career decisions. While the information we provide below is a good start, it is not exhaustive. If you have any feedback regarding these resources, please let us know at careercenter@georgetown.edu.

If you would like to speak with a counselor or advisor at the career center, schedule an appointment on Handshake.

Know Your Rights

As an employee it’s important to know that you have rights in the workplace. It is against the law for employers to discriminate against its employees on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), religion, disability, age (40 or older), and genetic information (including family medical history).

Illegal Interview Questions

There are certain questions employers may not legally ask you in an interview. These include questions about your family or marital status, pregnancy (current or planned), and your spouse’s occupation, just to name a few. For more information on illegal interview questions, see:

Evaluating Employers

InHerSight is a website that rates employers on how supportive they are for the women who work there. This can be another useful data point to help you decide whether a company might be a good fit for you.

Negotiating Offers

One persistent fact of working life in the U.S. is the pay gap between men and women who work full-time. Women working full-time in 2020 earned 82 percent of what men earned. Whatever the sources of this discrepancy—and if you are interested, we encourage you to read more (Dept. of Labor statistics, Harvard economist Claudia Goldin’s work here )—one aspect of earnings is negotiating for higher salaries and other benefits. While we do not subscribe to the idea that women can simply negotiate away the gender pay gap, we do recommend all students negotiate job offers from employers. Here are some resources to help you with that negotiation:

Campus Resources

At Cawley we embrace the importance of intersectionality and recognize that women’s career journeys are shaped by many different identities and experiences.

In addition to Cawley’s career services, we encourage you to explore following Georgetown offices and resources.

Georgetown University Women’s Center

The mission of Georgetown University Women’s Center is to support, educate and empower women of all cultures, races, sexual orientations, genders and ages. The Women’s Center celebrates women’s achievements and advocates for a climate that promotes social justice, free of all barriers and discrimination.

Health Education Services

Health Education Services offers health promotion programming and health communication materials for students. Health Education Services also provides assessment, treatment, or referrals on the issues of body image, eating disorders, nutrition, substance abuse, stress management, sexual assault, relationship violence, stalking, pregnancy, and overall health and wellness. All clinical services are completely free and confidential.

Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS)

CAPS serves the mental health care needs of students and the campus community. Many students come to CAPS when they experience life events or academic pressures that leave them feeling anxious, confused, lonely, angry, depressed or overwhelmed. When those feelings persist for more than a few days, it is often helpful to speak with an unbiased, objective professional. Some students come only for consultation about how to help a friend or family member. Any personal issue that is troubling you may be discussed in counseling.

Georgetown’s LGBTQ Center

Georgetown’s LGBTQ Resource Center supports the queer community at Georgetown through resources, outreach, advocacy, and programming designed to aid students throughout their journey’s at Georgetown and beyond. The LGBTQ Resource Center at Georgetown is among the first such centers of its kind at a Catholic/Jesuit institution in the country. We embrace and celebrate the rich diversity and intersectionality that exists amongst our Georgetown community and strive to uphold the values that allow all students to flourish at Georgetown and beyond.

Georgetown’s Disability Cultural Center

The Disability Cultural Center (DCC) celebrates disability as an intersectional identity through the transformative power of the arts, sciences, and community. In keeping with Georgetown’s Jesuit values, the DCC calls on Georgetown University to foster a culture of access inside and outside of the classroom that embraces non-apparent and apparent disabilities as vital to the vibrant diversity of humanity.

Institutional Diversity, Equity & Affirmative Action

The mission of the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity & Affirmative Action is to promote a deep understanding and appreciation among the diverse members of the University community to result in justice and equality in educational, employment and contracting opportunities, as well as to lead efforts to create an inclusive academic and work environment.

Professional Associations

Most professional associations offer student memberships at a discount, and memberships usually come with access to programs such as speaker events, or job fairs.

This is only a selection of professional associations. If you don’t see one that reflects your interests, don’t hesitate to schedule an appointment with us to discuss further.