Psychology Chartered

The Power of Women in Psychology.

Posted by Chloe

8th March 2019

Psychology has always placed a large emphasis on the contributions of male psychologists from around the world such as Freud, Skinner and Watson. With such great names, it sadly leaves the amazing contributions of female psychologists being overlooked.

There were (and continue to be) many women in psychology whose critical contributions helped shape the psychology field into what it is today. The psychology field is ironically female dominated, where for every male active psychologist, there are 2.1 female active psychologists according to the APA (2013).  When looking into the early history of psychology, you may find yourself wondering if they were all male… The prevalence of male thinkers on lists of the best pioneers in the early days of psychology certainly do make it seem that way, however, the reality is that women have been big contributors of psychology since the beginning.

However, many of the women pioneers in psychology faced a lot of obstacles, discrimination and difficulties. Many were not allowed to study alongside males, were turned down for degrees they were rightfully entitled to, struggled to get into academic positions allowing them to publish and carry out high profile research.

The following are just a few of the important women who have contributed to the shaping of what we know to be psychology:

  • It may be that the first thing that pops into your head is ‘Sigmund Freud’… However, the daughter of the famous psychoanalyst, Anna Freud, was also a well-known and very influential psychologist in her own right! Not only did she expand on her fathers’ ideas, she also developed the ground-breaking field of ‘Child Psychoanalysis’, influencing other greats such as Erikson. Alongside this, another of her many accomplishments include the introduction of mechanisms of defence and the expansion of interest in the field of Child Psychology.

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  • American Psychologist and Philosopher, the first woman to become president of the American Psychological Association in 1905. Mary Calkins’ psychology career focused on self-psychology and the belief that the conscious self ought to be the foundation of psychological study.

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  • Developmental Psychologist, Mary Ainsworth, highlighted the importance of healthy childhood attachments. She pioneered the implication of a technique known as “strange situation” assessment. Her amazing work had a huge influence on our understanding of attachment styles and how these contribute to our behaviour in later life.

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  • If you studied developmental psychology, you may be familiar with Eleanor Maccoby. Her work in the Psychology of sex differences have played a large role in current understandings of socialisation, gender roles and biological influences on sex differences. Also being the first woman to chair the psychology department at Stanford University, and being the first woman to lecture at this University wearing a “pantsuit”.

    • There have been many important and ground-breaking contributions made by women in the psychology field despite the barriers and setbacks. While women once made up only a minority of the psychology field, the tides have surely turned and today, women are making up almost two-thirds of all psychology graduates, more than half the members of the BPS and 75% majors in Psychology.

    Happy International Women’s Day 2019!

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