Feminism and Women Leaders in Spssi

Abstract

We look at women leaders in the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI) as a case study to explore the roots of second wave feminist leadership in psychology and its impact on the acceptance of gender as an important part of the field. Although all psychological organizations excluded many women from leadership until the latter part of the 20th century, the SPSSI, despite the contradiction between its socially activist agenda and exclusionary practices, was unusual because its ideals attracted many accomplished women to become members. In order to provide a richer view of women's professional leadership and its consequences, we conducted a cohort analysis of the personal and professional circumstances of those women elected to office in the SPSSI over the past 70 years. We examine the complex interaction between the internalization of sexist norms, the use of formal and informal social structures (especially those involving collegial networking), political ideology, and social change. Based on our analysis, we suggest that the achievements of individual women appear to be less influential than the development of a critical mass of women leaders with a politically activist agenda and commitment to a social constructionist theoretical frame.

SPSSI Leaders: Collective Biography and the Dilemma of Value‐Laden Action and Value‐Neutral Research

“…Female mentor -student lineages, similar to those found earlier among male leaders, are beginning to emerge. These could not have existed earlier because of discrimination against women at doctoral granting institutions (Unger et al, 2010).…”

“…A number of female leaders of the 1970s and 1980s were active in the formation of the APA Division on the Psychology of Women (Unger et al, 2010). Martha Mednick, Bernice Lott, Phyllis Katz, Rhoda Unger, Jacqueline Eccles, Virginia O'Leary, Michele Wittig, Pamela Reid, and Irene Frieze all served as presidents of that organization (as did Barbara Wallston and Carolyn Sherif who died before this study was initiated).…”

“…This is particularly important because both earlier studies ended just as SPSSI was undergoing major shifts in the demographic composition of its leadership. There was a large influx of women, energized by second wave feminism (Unger, Sheese, & Main, 2010) and an increase in the number of ethnic minority individuals elected to leadership since 1986. Unlike previous collective biographies, this study used a questionnaire sent to SPSSI leaders instead of relying on previously published historical and biographical sources.…”

“…Women's views about their own marginality have changed over time. Women leaders in SPSSI began to regard themselves as socially marginal when they were influenced by the political and social theories of second wave feminism (Unger et al, 2010).…”

ReclaimingSPSSI's Sociological Past: Marie Jahoda and the Immersion Tradition in Social Psychology

“…She was elected to its presidency in 1955-1956, the first woman to be so honored. She was the only woman to hold this position in SPSSI's first 35 years despite the presence of many active women psychologists and its progressive social agenda (Unger, Sheese, & Main, 2010).…”