The Association for Women in Psychology (AWP) is a not-for-profit scientific and educational organization committed to encouraging

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

psychological research, theory, and activism.

History

The Association for Women in Psychology (AWP) was founded in 1969 at the annual convention of the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...

(APA). Its co-founders included

Phyllis Chesler Phyllis Chesler (born October 1, 1940) is an American writer, psychotherapist, and professor emerita of psychology and women's studies at the College of Staten Island ( CUNY). She is a renowned second-wave feminist psychologist and the auth ...

, Dorothy Riddle, and E. Kitch Childs. At the time, there was no national organization nor division thereof addressing issues related to the

psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

of women. Also in 1969, after an Association for Women in Psychology group had worked on a series of demands, Chesler and Riddle presented the demands at the annual meeting of the APA. Chesler prepared a statement on the APA's obligations to women and demanded one million dollars in reparation for the damage psychology had perpetrated against allegedly mentally ill and traumatized women.Robert Reinhold,
Women Criticize Psychology Unit; $1-Million in Reparations Is Demanded at Convention
, ''The New York Times'', September 6, 1970. Members of the AWP also picketed the APA's Board of Directors meeting, to raise awareness of the

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers pri ...

within the organization and the field of psychology in general.Tiefer, L. (1991)
"A brief history of the Association for Women in Psychology"
''Psychology of Women Quarterly'', 15, pp. 635-649. In response, APA eventually established a division on the Psychology of Women (Division 35) in 1973. Together, AWP and Division 35 successfully advocated for a Women's Program Office at APA's national headquarters.

Status

AWP remains an independent organization, operating separately from Division 35, outside of APA's organizational structure. AWP has held

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

(NGO) status within the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

since 1976. AWP maintains a broad membership inclusive of all people interested in the psychology of women. AWP sponsors regional and national conferences on feminist psychology and offers several awards to recognize significant contributions to the psychology of women. AWP also collaborates with other organizations in support of feminist approaches to psychological theory, research, pedagogy, teaching, and mental health issues. AWP is concerned about such things as

reproductive rights Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as follows: Reproductive rights rest on t ...

and bias in psychiatric diagnosis in

DSM-5 The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition'' (DSM-5), is the 2013 update to the '' Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'', the taxonomic and diagnostic tool published by the American Psychiatri ...

. AWP co-sponsors a listserv, POWR-L, the Psychology of Women Resource List, and a suite at the APA convention with Division 35, both of which support collaboration and collegiality among feminists.

References

External links

*
POWR-L@LISTSERV.URI.EDU: Psychology of Women Resource List
{{Authority control Psychology organizations based in the United States Feminist organizations in the United States Women and psychology