American Civil Liberties Union

Founded in 1920, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), with more than 5 National offices and 50 affiliates across the country, is America’s foremost advocate of individual rights. The Women’s Right Project of the ACLU seeks an undergraduate intern for the Fall of 2009.

Founded in 1972 by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Women’s Rights Project (WRP) has been a leader in the legal battles to ensure women’s full equality in American society. WRP is dedicated to the advancement of the rights and interests of women, with a particular focus on low-income women, women of color, and immigrant women – those who historically have been the most deeply victimized by gender bias and face the most pervasive barriers to equality today.

WRP focuses on four core priority areas: employment (including the rights of low-wage immigrant women workers, trafficking victims, women with criminal convictions, women in non-traditional employment, and welfare recipients), violence against women (including battered women’s rights to be free from discrimination in housing, employment, and government services), criminal and juvenile justice issues affecting women and girls (including the impact of drug laws on women and families, as well as the rights of girls in the juvenile justice system), and education (including single sex education, the rights of pregnant and parenting teens, and sexual assault in schools). Cutting across these core priorities, WRP seeks to bring an international human rights framework to our litigation and advocacy. Through litigation, community outreach, advocacy, and public education, WRP pushes for change and systemic reform in those institutions that perpetuate discrimination against women.

The Women’s Rights Project has overall responsibility for implementing ACLU policy in the area of gender discrimination. WRP conducts direct litigation, files amicus curiae briefs, provides support for ACLU affiliate litigation, serves as a resource for ACLU legislative work on women’s rights and seeks to advance ACLU policy goals through public education, organizing and coalition advocacy. WRP has been an active participant in virtually all of the major gender discrimination litigation in the Supreme Court, in Congressional and public education efforts to remedy gender discrimination and other endeavors on behalf of women.

INTERNSHIP OVERVIEW:

This opportunity is open to students who have completed their first year of undergraduate school (including recent graduates). A fall semester internship can be full-time or part-time, with negotiable weekly hours, and can be continued into the next semester. Internships are unpaid positions. Arrangements can be made for work/study or course credit.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Interns will be working closely with the WRP staff; responsibilities will include the following:

Providing assistance in the preparation of court filings and public education materials.

Handling inquiries from those seeking legal assistance.
Providing assistance in the maintenance of case files and the compiling of press files.

Other projects as assigned.

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS:

First year of undergraduate school must be completed before beginning the internship.

Strong written/verbal research and communication skills.

Demonstrated initiative to see projects through to completion.

Strong interest in women’s rights, social justice and civil liberties issues.

HOW TO APPLY:

Applicants should send a letter of interest, a resume, and non-fiction writing sample of no more than five pages to Aliya Hussain, ahussain@aclu.org, reference WRP Fall Legal Internship in subject line of email or regular mail to:

Fall Undergraduate Internship Hiring
ACLU Women’s Rights Project
125 Broad Street, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10004-2400

We strongly encourage applicants to apply by September 11, 2009, but applications will be accepted until the positions are filled. Please indicate in your cover letter where you found this job posting.

The ACLU is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and encourages women, people of color, persons with disabilities, and lesbians and gay men to apply.

The ACLU comprises two separate corporate entities, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation. Both the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation are national organizations with the same overall mission, and share office space and employees. The ACLU has two separate corporate entities in order to do a broad range of work to protect civil liberties. This job posting refers collectively to the two organizations under the name “ACLU.”