North American psychology has undergone a profound shift over the last 50 years. In 1960, women received only a small minority of doctorates in the field. Today, they receive the majority. To understand this shift and the role women and feminists have played in it, we need to collect the first-hand accounts of feminist psychologists, including those who were instrumental in instigating these changes and those who continue to push the feminist agenda. We also need to be aware of our history. Who were the women who came before us? How did their work lay the foundation for feminist psychology? This site both highlights important women in psychology''s past and amplifies the diverse feminist voices of contemporary psychologists. We invite you to explore their stories.
For many years, only a small minority of psychologists were women. Despite their small numbers, their contributions and experiences helped shaped what we came to know in psychology. They paved the way for other women by serving as examples of what was possible. Discover their stories in the Women’s History section of this site.
By the late 1960s, women psychologists were still in the minority but their voices were getting louder. Many of these voices were feminist voices. Many expressed radically different ways to approach and theorize psychology. Others critiqued existing methods and worked to improve them. Discover the stories of these feminist psychologists in the Feminist Psychology section of this site.
Psychology's Feminist Voices is a project directed by Alexandra Rutherford at York University in Toronto, Canada. She is an associate professor of psychology and a primary faculty member in the History and Theory of Psychology graduate program.