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Human Rights Watch Employee Reviews about "human rights"
Updated Dec 4, 2023
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Found 137 of over 269 reviews
71% Recommend to a Friend
83% Approve of CEO
Found 11 of over 269 reviews
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Recommend to a Friend
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Kenneth Roth
61 Ratings
Top Review Highlights by Sentiment
Excerpts from user reviews, not authored by Glassdoor
Pros
- "Flexible hours, decent pay, great colleagues, international reputation, many opportunities for networking and travelling." (in 14 reviews)
Cons
- "It is an unpaid internship and living in New York City is very expensive so you have to find means to support yourself" (in 15 reviews)
- "There is little substantive work and support staff are made to feel guilty if they need to take overtime." (in 6 reviews)
- "My managers & colleagues were constantly working and I felt I had to keep up with the break" (in 4 reviews)
- "My management balked when I inquired about providing a travel stipend for interns (even to partly cover commuting costs!), and gave the classic, 'interns are paid in experience,' line." (in 4 reviews)
Ratings by Demographics
This rating reflects the overall rating of Human Rights Watch and is not affected by filters.
Reviews about "human rights"
Return to all Reviews- 4.0May 19, 2017Anonymous EmployeeFormer Employee
Pros
Experts at the top of the global human rights field, unparalleled research and policy advocacy experience and learning opportunities
Cons
The organization grew very rapidly and there seemed to be a growing disconnect between the leadership and the rest of the staff
- 5.0Aug 15, 2023Africa Division InternFormer Intern, less than 1 yearJohannesburg
Pros
Meaningful Impact: As an intern at Human Rights Watch, you'll have the opportunity to contribute to meaningful work that aims to protect and promote human rights across Africa. Your efforts could contribute to positive changes in people's lives. Learning and Development: The organization is renowned for its research and advocacy efforts. You'll gain valuable experience in research, writing, advocacy strategies, and working with diverse teams. Skill Enhancement: You'll develop skills in investigative research, report writing, data analysis, and advocacy campaigns, which are transferable to many other fields. Global Perspective: Working with a respected international organization provides a broader perspective on global human rights issues and their interconnectedness.
Cons
Workload and Pressure: The nature of human rights work can be emotionally challenging and demanding. Dealing with distressing content and tight deadlines might lead to stress.
- 2.0Oct 7, 2015AssociateCurrent Employee, more than 1 yearNew York, NY
Pros
Be a part of human rights mission, interesting people to meet, convenient location.
Cons
As many associates, I started as an intern and after a couple of months got hired full-time associate. As an Intern: from the first day no one would acknowledge you, even though I was super outgoing and friendly because I wanted to work as an associate at HRW. Sometimes they will forget you even exist - however, it can depend on the department you are working at, some were fun to work at. Most of the time you will sit at the computer on the conner and sometimes days without human interaction. The hardest part for me was to ask for clarifications as I often got a reaction like I was stupid. Folks at my department didn't appreciate positive atmosphere and communication, interaction with other departments. As an Associate: No appreciation for your hard work, No interest in your development - basically you just devote yourself for 2 yrs and then they will discard you. A lot of difficult people to deal with (because of their title) who will not acknowledge you nor say Hi or Good Morning. HR is a joke, don't trust them as they represent company interests and not yours. Some associates were forced to have an exit interview. During one of the HR events, associates were told: 'If you feel stressed about work, lack of appreciation and motivation, then figure out how to deal with it or just leave'. Relations between associates and higher title folks are based on fear, at least in my department. Overall, I was hoping for better experience because this is Human Rights Org - shouldn't we be more respectful, courteous to each other? How can we fight for Human Rights when people at work here at HRW don't feel/treated like human beings?
32 - 3.0Oct 8, 2013Anonymous EmployeeFormer Employee
Pros
Great learning experience in the human rights field
Cons
Differing ideologies may make it tough
1 - 3.0Dec 12, 2022Research AssistantFormer Employee, less than 1 year
Pros
It looks good on your resume, you learn innovative ways to investigate, yet within the organization there are people who really care about human rights.
Cons
Little impact on the research you support, following a previous agenda that seeks to generate a particular impact.
- 4.0Jun 10, 2010Anonymous EmployeeFormer Employee
Pros
One of the most respected human rights organizations internationally. HRW does not receive funding from governments, which allows for independent agenda setting and objective reporting. Salary comparatively higher than other human rights organizations. Leadership open to feedback and input from staff.
Cons
Given the size of the organization, action and response tends to be slower. Reports take too long to be published.
4 - 4.0Nov 8, 2015Anonymous EmployeeFormer Employee
Pros
Great training ground for future human rights work-you learn from the best in the field. Incredibly smart and dedicated co-workers. Lots of autonomy and independence for researchers.
Cons
While some managers are supportive, others can be very difficult. Your experience will depend on your division, which will in turn depend on your manager.
4 - 3.0Apr 10, 2018Communications InternFormer Intern, less than 1 yearNew York, NY
Pros
Great place to be surrounded by incredibly intelligent and worldly people, free coffee, casual office environment
Cons
Unpaid internships despite being a human rights agency, misunderstanding of intern expectations in a sense
- 2.0Jan 16, 2017AdvocacyFormer Intern, less than 1 yearBrussels
Pros
The atmosphere in the office was wonderful - always friendly and welcoming - and I made great friends with the other interns and some members of staff.
Cons
Despite the wonderful atmosphere, I would not recommend an advocacy internship in the Brussels office. Around 90% of my time was taken up with unskilled, repetitive tasks, such as updating contact lists and copying/pasting links from the internet. I had only 3 meetings with my supervisor in 6 months, and there was no sense of progression, learning, or being part of a team. When I now fill in job applications or answer interview questions, I can hardly think of anything I did at Human Rights Watch that could help my application. As well as all of this, the internship was unpaid. This was particularly frustrating when I was engaged in purely administrative tasks with no learning content. I was little more than an unpaid administrator.
- 5.0Oct 1, 2021Research InternFormer Intern, less than 1 yearNew York, NY
Pros
- Quiet and independent workplace environment - I did informational interviews with research assistants, researchers, and division directors. They were very friendly and wanted to help me advance in a human rights career.
Cons
- I didn't receive training for drafting a written piece - My internship was unpaid at the time
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