When Dr. Cher Weixia Chen was an undergraduate student at Beijing University in China, she found that even the university’s most esteemed female professors faced inequality in the workplace. “I learned that, worldwide, women earn much less than men in almost every occupational category,” she says. “This fundamental human rights issue, so significant to the life of working women, had been long-overlooked.” This realization led Dr. Chen to develop a life-long interest in gender pay equity.
Dr. Chen graduated from Beijing University with a Bachelor of Law degree and from National University of Singapore with a Master of Law degree. She then travelled to the United States to complete her studies, earning a Master of Arts degree in East Asian Studies and a Ph. D. in Politics and International Relations from the University of Southern California. She remained determined to combine her education, writing, and teaching abilities to raise awareness about gender pay equity and other international human rights concerns.
When searching for a university faculty position, Dr. Chen was attracted to George Mason University’s New Century College integrative studies format. She felt that the College’s emphasis on student and teacher collaboration reflected her own personal teaching philosophy. She came on board as a New Century College assistant professor in the fall of 2011, teaching classes for the International Studies and Legal Studies concentrations and the Cornerstones program.
As she shares her subject-matter expertise, Dr. Chen also enjoys helping students uncover exciting new information through research—a skill she finds essential for career success. Her passion for human rights encourages students to discover their own passion for helping others. She urges every student to “Get involved. Feel empowered. Make yourself a better person and the world a better place.”
Find out more about Dr. Cher Weixia Chen’s newly published book, “Compliance and Compromise: The Jurisprudence of Gender Pay Equity.” Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2011.
January 09, 2012
