Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women

What Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women does

The Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women is a feminist research center founded in 1981 and housed at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It operates as a non-commercial academic center serving Brown undergraduates (215 enrolled in Gender and Sexuality Studies courses in 2021-22), graduate students (19 from 13 disciplines in the GNSS certificate program), postdoctoral fellows, Brown faculty, external scholars, and Friends/alumni supporters. Core programs include the yearlong Pembroke Seminar, the peer-reviewed journal differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies (published three times yearly by Duke University Press), undergraduate and graduate Gender and Sexuality Studies academic programs, a Postdoctoral Fellowship Program with annual stipends of $62,232-$67,824, and multiple research initiatives including the Black Feminist Theory Project, LGBTQIA+ Thinking Initiative, and Transnational Feminisms Initiative.

The center's intellectual infrastructure centers on the Pembroke Center Archives, anchored by the Feminist Theory Archive (housing papers of leading feminist scholars such as Joan Scott, Silvia Federici, and Anne Fausto-Sterling) and the Black Feminist Theory Project collections (Hortense J. Spillers, Hazel V. Carby, Keisha-Khan Y. Perry), preserved in partnership with the John Hay Library at Brown. The center does not charge for its academic programs, public lectures, or archival access. Its core "technology" consists of digital archives, a YouTube channel for recorded events, email newsletters, and social media presence on Facebook, X/Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

The center's business model is a non-profit academic unit funded through Brown University institutional support, donor contributions from Friends of the Pembroke Center, named endowments for fellowships, prizes, and the Shauna McKee Stark '76, P'10 Directorship, and co-sponsored programming with Brown's Watson Institute, Sarah Doyle Center, Brown Arts Institute, and other campus units. No commercial revenue is generated; programs, events, and academic access are provided free of charge. Operating scale is modest with 8 staff plus postdoctoral fellows, supplemented by university infrastructure and external scholarly partnerships.

Name

Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women

Legal name

Brown University

Website

https://pembroke.brown.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women is a feminist research center at Brown University, founded in 1981, that serves undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty through seminars, Gender and Sexuality Studies academic programs, and scholarly publishing via the differences journal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Research Center

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

akta.pro primary industry

Comprehensive Doctoral Research Universities (Multi-Disciplinary) (EDAHABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Social Sciences & Public Policy Research Universities (EDAHABAD), Interdisciplinary & Multidisciplinary Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAI)

Keywords

• Feminist research center
• Gender studies scholarship
• Academic research programs
• Women's studies archive
• Gender sexuality studies

Headquarters

HQ city

Providence

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. University Funding: As a center at Brown University, the Pembroke Center receives institutional funding from the university for operations, staff, and programming.
2. Donor Support: Friends of the Pembroke Center provide annual gifts and support. Major endowment established by Shauna M. Stark '76 P'10 for the Directorship. Named fellowships and prizes funded by donors including Nancy L. Buc, Carol G. Lederer, Artemis A.W. and Martha Joukowsky, and others.
3. Postdoctoral Fellowship Program: The center awards residential postdoctoral fellowships with annual salaries between $62,232 and $67,824, plus research expenses and transition stipends. Funded through endowed positions and university support.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women is a feminist research center at Brown University that delivers interdisciplinary scholarship, academic programming, archival preservation, and publications centered on gender, sexuality, race, and difference. It runs the yearlong Pembroke Seminar, the journal differences, an undergraduate concentration and graduate certificate in Gender and Sexuality Studies, postdoctoral fellowships, and multiple thematic research initiatives.

Product overview

The Pembroke Center is a feminist research center at Brown University offering a unified portfolio of academic programs, research initiatives, and scholarly resources. Core offerings include the yearlong Pembroke Seminar, the differences journal published by Duke University Press, an undergraduate concentration and graduate certificate in Gender and Sexuality Studies, postdoctoral fellowships, and archival collections including the Feminist Theory Archive. Additional programs encompass the LGBTQIA+ Thinking Initiative, Black Feminist Theory Project, Transnational Feminisms Initiative, Pembroke Publics Lecture Series, Oral History Project, and student research grants. The Center functions as an integrated academic institution rather than a technology product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pembroke Seminar A yearlong residential research seminar that brings together Brown faculty fellows, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students to examine an annual theme related to gender, sexuality, and difference from multiple disciplinary perspectives.
• differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies A peer-reviewed academic journal published three times yearly by Duke University Press, serving as a leading international forum for feminist cultural studies and theoretical debates on difference.
• Gender and Sexuality Studies Undergraduate Concentration An undergraduate academic concentration equipping Brown students to examine how gender and sexuality intersect with race, class, and other categories of difference across social, cultural, political, economic, and scientific contexts, with individualized faculty advising.
• Gender and Sexuality Studies Graduate Certificate Program A graduate-level certificate program providing specialized training in feminist, queer, trans, and intersectional methods for Brown PhD students pursuing degrees across a range of humanities and social science disciplines.
• Pembroke Center Archives The center's archival collections, including the Feminist Theory Archive and Black Feminist Theory Project, preserving the papers of notable feminist scholars for research use by scholars worldwide.
• Postdoctoral Fellowship Program Yearlong residential postdoctoral fellowships for external scholars (recent PhDs from outside Brown) who participate in the Pembroke Seminar, teach one undergraduate course, and pursue individual research, with annual salaries between $62,232 and $67,824 plus research expenses and transition stipends.
• LGBTQIA+ Thinking Initiative A research and programming initiative examining how scholars and communities think with and about LGBTQIA+ subjects, communities, and histories through scholarly community building, classroom collaborations, and public programming.
• Black Feminist Theory Project An initiative that enhances the visibility and accessibility of Black feminist discourse through rotating distinguished professorships, affiliated scholars in residence, lecture series, and archival collections of notable Black feminist theorists.
• Transnational Feminisms Initiative A research initiative focusing on feminist scholarship across national boundaries and transnational contexts, examining struggles faced by people whose gender identity or sexual orientation make them targets of violence globally.
• Pembroke Publics Lecture Series An annual public lecture series bringing pathbreaking artists and scholars whose work engages issues of gender and sexuality to Brown University, with events also available virtually through YouTube.
• Pembroke Center Oral History Project A collection of first-person oral history accounts documenting experiences related to COVID-19, protests against racism, Title IX, women in the military, and other topics relevant to gender and sexuality studies.
• Student Research Grants and Prizes Financial support for Brown undergraduate and graduate students, including Steinhaus/Zisson Research Grants (up to $2,000), Linda Pei Undergraduate Research Grant (up to $1,000), Barbara Anton Community Research Grant, Helen Terry MacLeod Research Grant, Ruth Simmons Prize, Marie J. Langlois Dissertation Prize, and faculty seed grants.
• Pembroke Public Health Collaborative An interdisciplinary project exploring intersections of public health and gender and sexuality studies, including reproductive justice research and public health humanities curriculum development.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 31,000 users accessed differences journal content online in one year
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• John Hay Library, Brown UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Pembroke Center Archives maintains a collaborative relationship with the John Hay Library to inform collection development policy, tap into library purchasing power, care for archival collections, and familiarize library staff about collections for researcher use. The library's conservation team cares for textiles and special materials at no cost. The Spillers collection is among the most heavily used special collections at the Hay Library.
• Providence Public LibraryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-curated the 'Tomboy' exhibition with the Providence Public Library, examining the history of cultural expectations and gender norms for girls and women.
• Duke University PresscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDuke University Press publishes the journal differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies, which is housed in and supported by the Pembroke Center.
• Brown Arts InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsored the Headmaster Magazine Artist Talk with Jason Tranchida and Matthew Lawrence.
• Brown University Centers and DepartmentscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe center works with various Brown units including the Watson Institute, Sarah Doyle Center for Women and Gender, Brown Women's Network, Swearer Center, and Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice on programming and initiatives.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sarah Doyle Center for Women and Gender: Sister center at Brown University focused on women, gender, and sexuality. Operates in the same building ecosystem with overlapping but distinct programmatic mission (student-facing vs. research-focused), making it the most direct peer institution.
• Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality: Rice University's interdisciplinary research center providing graduate certificates, undergraduate programming, and feminist scholarship support. Comparable in scale and operating model as a small, mission-focused center within a private research university.
• Clayman Institute for Gender Research: Stanford's interdisciplinary gender research center, founded in 1974, that similarly houses research initiatives, fellowships, and public programming on gender. Closest institutional analog in terms of scope and academic positioning at a peer Ivy-caliber university.
• Center for Gender and Sexuality Studies: University of Chicago's interdisciplinary center for gender and sexuality research, offering undergraduate and graduate programs, fellowships, and public programming. Mirrors Pembroke's structure as a coordinating center for GNSS-style academic programs at a top research university.
• Five College Women's Studies Research Center: Located at Mount Holyoke, this research center focuses on feminist scholarship and serves multiple institutions. Comparable in mission (feminist research, archives, fellowships) and in operating model as a dedicated research center within a liberal arts setting.
• Institute for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality: Columbia University's interdisciplinary research institute supporting feminist and gender scholarship, offering graduate certificates and fellowships. Direct peer in academic programming, research mission, and institutional positioning at an Ivy League university.
• Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality: UC Berkeley's interdisciplinary center for gender and sexuality studies, offering undergraduate and graduate programs, public events, and research initiatives. Comparable in mission scope and academic structure within a major research university.
• Center for Research on Women at Barnard College: Barnard's feminist research center affiliated with Columbia, focused on interdisciplinary scholarship on women and gender. Comparable as a women-centered research center within the broader Columbia ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study: Harvard's premier interdisciplinary research institute, much larger in scale and resources, that hosts fellows and scholars across disciplines including gender studies. Comparable as an academic research institute model but operates at significantly broader scale and prestige.

Others

• Duke University Press: Publisher of the differences journal housed at Pembroke Center. Functions as the center's distribution and publishing channel partner, and is comparable as an ecosystem enabler that connects the center to global academic audiences.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PembrokeCenter
• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLTiEffrOcz_41We8G8P-5vXxOqBZC00T5
• Facebookfacebook.com/PembrokeCenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pembroke-center-for-teaching-and-research-on-women
• Instagraminstagram.com/pembrokecenter_brown

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women