Research Interests
Professor Bunch's work focuses on the application of feminist theory to public policy questions, particularly at the global level. Her current investigations center on developing an analysis and understanding of human rights that incorporates women's lives more fully and utilizes the question of violence against women as a way of exploring the parameters of their issues both theoretically and practically. Her other public policy work has focused on issues of gender and international development. She is the author of several books and articles. Her writings includePassionate Politics: Feminist Theory in Action (NY: St. Martin's Press, 1987); "Preambulo: Abriendo las Copuertas," in Declaracion Universal de Derecho Humanos: Texto Y Comentarios Inusuales, edited by Alda Facio (San Jose, Costa Rica: ILANUD Programa Mujer, Justiciaa y Genero, 2001); and "Taking Stock: Women's Human Rights Five Years After Beijing" in Holding On to the Promise: Women's Human Rights and the Beijing + 5 Review, edited by Cynthia Meillon and Charlotte Bunch (NJ: Center for Women's Global Leadership, 2001).
Biographical Notes
Charlotte Bunch, Founding Director and Senior Scholar, at the Center for Women's Global Leadership, Rutgers University, has been an activist, author and organizer in the women's, civil, and human rights movements for four decades. A Board of Governor’s Distinguished Service Professor in Women's and Gender Studies, Bunch was previously a Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, a founder of Washington D.C. Women's Liberation and ofQuest: A Feminist Quarterly. She is the author of numerous essays and has edited or co-edited nine anthologies including the Center’s reports on the UN Beijing Plus 5 Review and the World Conference Against Racism. Her books include two classics: Passionate Politics: Feminist Theory in Action and Demanding Accountability: The Global Campaign and Vienna Tribunal for Women's Human Rights.
Bunch's contributions to conceptualizing and organizing for women's human rights have been recognized by many and include: her induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame in October 1996; President Clinton's selection of Bunch as a recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights in December 1999; her receipt of the "Women Who Make a Difference Award" from the National Council for Research on Women in 2000; and being honored as one of the "21 Leaders for the 21st Century" by Women's Enews in 2002 and also received the “Board of Trustees Awards for Excellence in Research” in 2006 at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey . She has served on the boards of numerous organizations and is currently a member of the Advisory Committee for the Human Rights Watch Women's Rights Division, and on the Boards of the Global Fund for Women and theInternational Council on Human Rights Policy. She has been a consultant to many United Nations bodies and recently served on the Advisory Committee for the Secretary General’s 2006 Report to the General Assembly on Violence against Women.
Click here to view Professor Bunch's CV.
Awards, Fellowships, and Grants
- 2008 Joyce Warshow Lifetime Achievement Award SAGE (Services and Advocacy for LGBT Elders)
- 2008 Rutgers College Class of 1962 Presidential Public Service Award Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
- 2007 Honorary degree of Doctor of Laws University of Connecticut
- 2006 Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Research Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
- 2004 New Jersey Honorary United Nations Day Chair Appointed by the Governor of New Jersey
- 2002 Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor Recipient Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
- 2002 Women Who Make a Difference Award International Women's Forum
- 2002 21 Leaders for the 21st Century Women's Enews
- 2001 Spirit of American Women Award Girls Incorporated of Central New York
- 2000 Women Who Make a Difference Award National Council for Research on Women
- 1999 Church Women United Human Rights Award Church Women United
- 1999 Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights President William Jefferson Clinton
- 1998 The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program Recognition Award to the Center for Women's Global Leadership by the Department of Urban Planning and Policy Development, Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey
- 1997 award in recognition of its "international educational and organizing work fighting violence against women" to the Center for Women's Global Leadership by the Center for Anti-Violence Education
- 1996 Induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame
- 1993 Feminist of the Year to the Center for Women's Global Leadership by the Feminist Majority Foundation
- 1992 Resourceful Women Award
- 1987 The Jessie Bernard Wise Woman Award Center for Women Policy Studies
Selected Publications
Click here to view list of publications
Click here to view list of statements and articles
Courses Offered
- Gender and Human Rights
- Human Rights, Health and Violence: Global Feminist Perspectives
- Gender and International Development
- Global Feminism and Human Rights
- Global Perspectives on Women, Violence, and Human Rights
- Feminist Perspectives on Leadership, Power, and Diversity
- Teaching Women's Studies from An International Perspective
Speaking Requests
Due to the numerous requests Professor Bunch receives for speaking engagements, the Center for Women's Global Leadership asks that you email your request to
