Does Human Rights Watch pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Human Rights Watch employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.5 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Human Rights Watch. This rating has decreased by 5% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Human Rights Watch?

62% of Human Rights Watch employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Human Rights Watch 3.1 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.3 for culture and values and 2.7 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Human Rights Watch?

Intern (38) , Associate (23) , Researcher (14) , Coordinator (12) , Internship (7) , Senior Researcher (7) , Manager (5) , Associate Director (4) , Development and Outreach (4) , Managing Director (4) , Research Assistant (4) , Summer Intern (4) , Deputy Director (3) , Development Intern (3) , Director (3)

What are the pros of working at Human Rights Watch according to real employee reviews?

"Great colleagues" ((in 22 reviews)); "Great people to work with!" ((in 19 reviews)); "The benefits are good" ((in 15 reviews)); "Loved working there and learned a lot" ((in 8 reviews)); "Work environment is positive and supportive." ((in 7 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Human Rights Watch according to real employee reviews?

"It is an unpaid internship and living in New York City is very expensive so you have to find means to support yourself" ((in 16 reviews)); "bad management" ((in 8 reviews)); "Monotonous work, few opportunities for engagement with the advocacy work or research that HRW does" ((in 7 reviews)); "There is little substantive work and support staff are made to feel guilty if they need to take overtime." ((in 6 reviews)); "Excessive workloads, poor managers and chaotic culture" ((in 5 reviews))

What are employees saying about Human Rights Watch layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Human Rights Watch layoffs and their outlook for job security at Human Rights Watch in 2026.

Human Rights Watch reviews

3.2

62% would recommend to a friend

(180 total reviews)

Kenneth Roth

57% approve of CEO

33% positive business outlook

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Human Rights Watch has an employee rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars, based on 180 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Human Rights Watch employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the ONG y Organizaciones sin fines de lucro industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

180 reviews

5.0

Aug 10, 2015

Love experience!

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Exposure to important organization that shares my values.

Cons

Lack of upward mobility. Overworked supervisors.

4.0

Jul 21, 2015

Former Intern

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great experience. Have a great internship program where you get to go to weekly meetings with researchers, writers etc. It is a great way to meet other interns and get a feel for the company

Cons

Wish I was able to look at other departments within HRW. Unfortunately I felt like most of the work was tedious. Little credit is given to the interns.

4.0

Jul 16, 2015

4 Month Internship

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

It was a very encouraging environment; what I didn't know, I was taught or trained in (such as HTML/CSS). The associate I was working for encouraged me to draft statements and such. Other interns were super friendly and team-oriented. There were speakers for interns and I was not handling mail and coffee.

Cons

Another intern in the Development Division was overworked, often worked through lunch for an unpaid internship. This was my first internship, so I was unclear as to the leeway I had in doing certain things, such as contacting government officials to get contact information of certain people for an upcoming report. I like clear, professional lines in the sand between me and my supervisor, especially starting out. My associate and her supervisors were really nice, but I would get mixed signals when we were joking around as if not at work and then suddenly we're back in office mode and I'm being asked for this and that. Was my associate a friend or my superior coworker?

Viewing 160 - 162 of 180 Reviews