The Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center — formerly the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Network — works to advance women’s-focused leadership and ensure the success and centrality of women in public life and the law. We carry out our mission through three core pillars of service: we provide top-notch leadership development opportunities for NYU Law students that invest in their success in law school and beyond; we spur innovative thinking and serve as a hub for thought leadership about gender equity at NYU Law and in the broader legal community; and we bring research, advocacy, and media expertise to bear to ensure gender equity in the workplace and society.

Call for Applications: BWLC Visiting Fellows-in-Residence, AY 2025-26

The Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center invites applications for Visiting Fellows-in-Residence for the 2025-26 academic year. Ideal candidates are legal scholars with sabbatical funding who seek to undertake research and writing, organize events, and otherwise collaborate on projects focused on women’s rights and gender equity and justice. Applications will be accepted through March 31, 2025. Please visit the Job Opportunities page for more details. 

BWLC 2024 Annual Summary

The BWLC is pleased to present our annual summary, showcasing our work across leadership development, as a hub for thought leadership, and our strategic public leadership efforts over the past year. Read the report.

Report Spotlight

BWLC_Ford-Make the Connection Report Cover

The Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center launched its inaugural report, Make The Connection: Gender and Democracy, in September 2024. Inspired by the BWLC’s annual symposium series, Make The Connection is intended to help philanthropy leaders counter rising authoritarianism and address the intersection of gender and democracy. Make The Connection was produced with the support of the Ford Foundation.

Event Spotlight

On September 9, 2024, the BWLC proudly hosted the inaugural Sidney Shainwald Public Interest Lecture at NYU Law. The Honorable Elena Kagan, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, joined BWLC Faculty Director Melissa Murray to discuss topics such as gender representation in the Supreme Court, the evolution of the shadow docket, judicial ethics, and Justice Kagan’s early experiences clerking for Justice Marshall. Watch the recording.

Justice Kagan in conversation with Melissa Murray on stage

Press Highlights

Author: Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center
Author: Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center
Expert: Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center
Quoted: Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, Birnbaum Women's Leadership Center