Beyond Women’s Leadership: Embracing Feminist Praxis in Campus Women’s and Gender Equity Centers

Abstract

This reflective chapter examines the evolution of Women’s and Gender Equity Centers (WGECs) as spaces of feminist praxis and student activism. Drawing on the author’s experience directing centers at two public universities, the chapter interrogates the structural and ideological challenges WGECs face in balancing institutional support with social justice goals. Through personal narrative and analysis, the author explores how feminist leadership can transcend traditional “women’s leadership” paradigms that privilege individual empowerment over collective transformation. Centering intersectional and feminist theoretical frameworks, the chapter critiques exclusionary narratives in early feminist organizing while highlighting how contemporary WGECs cultivate inclusive activism across gender, race, and sexuality. The author advocates for reimagining WGECs as dynamic, intersectional sites of coalition building, education, and social change—spaces where personal and political identities converge to inspire feminist leadership grounded in equity and belonging.