Feminist Scholar-Activism Goes Global: Experiences of “Sociologists for Women in Society” at the UN

Oct 15, 2026

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This article examines how members of Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS) bridge social activism and academia through work at the United Nations. Focusing on the International Committee’s engagement at the annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the study draws on transnational feminist scholarship about the UN as a stage for global women’s movements and gender equality norms. Using interviews, observations, and archival material, it analyzes themes, opportunities, and challenges since the mid-nineties, showing growing visibility and applicability of feminist sociology.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Author Bio

Blending the Academy with Activism at the UN

Framing Global Social Change Through CSW

The CSW and Global Gender Equality Regime

The Article’s Argument and Methodological Structure

Theorizing a “Global” Women’s Movement

Feminist Scholar-Activism Goes Global: Experiences of “Sociologists for Women in Society” at the UN Daniela Jauk University of Graz Abstract This article focuses on the experiences and strategies of members of Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS) who strive to bridge the worlds of social activism and academia. It concerns the International Committee’s work at the United Nations (UN), specifically at the annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) meeting. It builds on transnational feminist literature that has discussed the UN as stage for a diverse global women’s movement and provider of global gender equality norms that, if utilized, advance gender equality in its member states. I analyze themes that emerged from a sample of in-depth interviews with current or former UN scholar-activists within SWSfrom a larger ethnographic study, and present experiences and challenges of SWS members’ engagement with UN politics and policy development since the mid-nineties. I demonstrate that SWS does justice to its mission of serving as an activist organization through its work in the global arena. Analysis of interviews, observations, and archival material demonstrates that SWS’s UN scholaractivism is increasing the visibility and applicability of feminist sociology. While this activism critically examines the discourse, it also disrupts hegemonic discourse and offers opportunities for concrete social change, particularly through linking activism, mentoring, and teaching. Keywords: United Nations, Feminist Sociology, Global Feminism, Transnational Scholaractivism Author bio: Daniela Jauk is visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Education at the University of Graz/Austria and an activist/educator in local and transnational feminist communities. She received her PhD in Sociology as a Fulbright student at the University of Akron, OH. Her research interests are feminist strategies of resistance, global feminisms, anti-feminism and qualitative methods. She teaches sociology of genders and sexualities, global sociology, qualitative methodology, and new media in education at several Austrian universities. Email: [daniela.jauk@gmail.com](daniela.jauk@gmail.com) We talk all the time how do we blend the academy with activism, well there it is, the UN. That to me is the perfect blend. We are using our research knowledge, our academic background to promote women's equality…We don't only have the potential of having an impact on an issue in the US; we have the potential of having an impact on an issue worldwide. Former UN delegate for SWS (I 16) Finding the “perfect blend” in work as described in the introductory quote, and advocating for social justice through action is the goal of many academics. It is inherent in a feminist approach to scholarly and educational work, which evolved out of its commitment to social change. Apart from scholar-activism on an individual level, the question arises if and how scholarly organizations can serve as an arena for global social change. (How) Can sociological networks address gender-related social problems on a global scale and utilize global governance structures such as the United Nations (UN) to shape gender equality discourse? This article takes Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS) as an example to tackle these questions, and interrogates opportunities and limitations for feminist scholaractivism around the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) . The CSW in the UN is one of the oldest commissions of the UN, dedicated to the advancement and monitoring of gender equality among its currently 193 member states. Particularly in the last four decades, the UN has created important physical and virtual space for the evolution of a “global gender equality regime”(Kardam, 2004) that blossomed around the UN Women World Conferences since 1975 and that offers a vibrant platform for transnational social movements addressing gender and sexuality (Desai, 2005, 2009; Jain, 2005;

FAQs

What does the article focus on regarding SWS members?

It focuses on SWS members’ experiences and strategies to connect social activism with academic work, especially through their engagement at the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women.

What evidence does the article use to analyze SWS scholar-activism?

The article analyzes interviews, observations, and archival material, drawing from a sample of in-depth interviews with current or former UN scholar-activists within SWS.

What impact does SWS scholar-activism have according to the article?

It increases the visibility and applicability of feminist sociology, disrupts hegemonic discourse, and creates opportunities for concrete social change through linking activism, mentoring, and teaching.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Ben