Reaching for Help: Intimate Partner Violence during COVID-19 pandemic // Nicole Roxanne Benquechea

    

Picture from: http://www.ipsnews.net/2020/04/addressing-rise-domestic-violence-lockdown/

    Intimate Partner Violence rates are rising, and they are rising fast. As the Coronavirus continues to spread across the world, it brings multiple stresses, including physical and psychological health risks, isolation, and loneliness, with the closure of many schools, businesses, economic vulnerability, and job losses. Some of the public health actions to reduce the spread of COVID-19 include avoiding large and small gatherings in private places and public spaces, working remotely, and closing schools. While these measures are critical for slowing the spread of COVID-19, they may contribute to an increase in violence due to:

• Social isolation or lack of social support

• Financial, emotional, or physical stress

• Lack of time alone or lack of physical and mental space

• Loss of job or income

• Lack of affordable housing

• Depression or anxiety

• Substance misuse

• Reduced access to mental health or substance use services and supports

    Being in a relationship is supposed to be safe and welcoming. It should be with someone that you care for and trust. Forms of abuse may include physical, emotional/psychological, sexual, and financial control and can happen to anyone.  Abusers often have the ability to manipulate or isolate the person they are mistreating while survivors of abuse may not be believed by those they reach out to. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020), social distancing measures can lead to more time in the home or in the same space as an abuser, increasing the risk for abuse. This can include child abuse and neglect, intimate partner violence, and elder abuse. Victims of violence may be unable to access help due to limited outside social contact, or they may not be able to seek victim services or shelter. The COVID-19 pandemic may also impact those experiencing violence in the following ways:

• Abusers may further isolate and control victims of violence.

• Abusers may share misinformation about the pandemic to control or frighten victims or prevent them from seeking medical treatment if they need it.

• Programs that serve victims, such as shelters and counseling centers, may be full or unable to assist them. Victims may fear entering shelters for fear of being exposed to COVID-19.

• Travel restrictions may impact a victim’s escape or safety plan.

    It’s important to recognize that abuse of another is, among many things, foremost about power and control. Taking steps to prepare for the possibility of a crisis can help you act quickly, ease your mind and lessen the impact if a crisis situation occurs. NAMI: National Alliance for the Mentally Ill is a great guide that provides important, potentially life-saving information for people experiencing a mental health crisis and their loved ones. Below are some great resources for finding help during a crisis.

    The NAMI HelpLine is a free, nationwide peer-support service providing information, resource referrals, and support to people living with mental health conditions, their family members and caregivers, mental health providers, and the public. HelpLine staff and volunteers are experienced, well-trained, and able to provide guidance (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill [NAMI], 2020). 

    To contact the NAMI HelpLine, please call 800-950-NAMI (6264), Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., ET, or send an email to info@nami.org.

    The NAMI HelpLine is not a hotline, crisis line, or suicide prevention line. If you or someone you know is experiencing a crisis, please see the resources below.

Written by Nicole Roxanne Benquechea

Building Resilience and Facing Adversity like Notorious R.B.G. // By Nicole Benquechea

  
 

Picture from: www.Ellen.com

    With the Coronavirus pandemic and racial inequality, this year feels like a test for

people’s resilience. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a phenomenal, and resilient woman who

was determined to advocate for women’s rights. On September 18, 2020, Supreme Court Justice

Ginsburg died due to complications of metastatic pancreas cancer when she was 87 years old.

Although Justice Ginsburg’s image with her frilly lace collar, black judicial robe, her oversize

glasses became an internet sensation she was notable for her inspiring change. In 1993, Ginsburg

was appointed by President Bill Clinton and served as the most senior member of the court's

liberal wing, delivering progressive votes on different social issues including abortion rights,

same-sex marriage, voting rights, immigration, health care, and affirmative action. One of her

accomplishments and goals in her position was to persuade the Supreme Court that the 14th

Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection applied not only to racial and sex discrimination

(Greenhouse, 2020). While reading her interviews, I admired her mannerisms and proactive

actions towards justice and equality for everyone. Not only was she intelligent, but she was also

funny. One of the favorite things I learned about her was the fact that she was bad at cooking and

enjoyed being with her family. Her confidence motivates me because she works tirelessly on the

hardships in her personal and professional career to obtain human rights for everyone. Perhaps

her resiliency is the key to learning how people can adapt and face adversity through hard times.

    Personally, I’m anxious about the climate and the intense violence/threats rising during

the upcoming elections; however, I know that I’m not alone. Plenty of people are concerned

about the future. Many people are facing the challenges in their personal life like low wages, lack

of affordable housing, and inequality (income, discrimination), etc. According to the American

Psychological Association (2020), psychologists define resilience as the process of adapting in

the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, and other sources of stress including family and

relationship problems, serious health problems, or workplace and financial stressors. Being a

resilient person doesn’t mean that someone can just get up from the challenges in their life but

learning to acknowledge their emotions in hard times. No one can build resilience on their own

and professional help from a licensed mental health professional can be an appropriate solution

to empower you to grow. Admitting that you have challenges and struggles with well-being and

mental health is the first step to find the strength to learn from those experiences. Justice

Ginsburg once stated that before her first Supreme Court argument, she was very nervous that

she didn’t eat lunch because she was afraid of throwing up. But into the discussion, she realized

had she had a “surge of power” that carried her through difficult times. With every hurdle in your

life, your voice matters and you’re more resilient than you give yourself credit for.  

                                                                                            Written by Nicole Roxanne Benquechea

References

American Psychological Association. (2020, February 1). Building your resilience. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/topics/resilience

Greenhouse,L. (2020, September 18). Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court's Feminist Icon, Is Dead at 87. The New York Times, Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/18/us/ruth-bader-ginsburg-dead.html

On Being a Woman Online: Gender- and Sexuality- based Harassment // Vasileia Karasavva

    

    

    A lot of my research so far is focused on image-based sexual abuse, a form of technology-facilitated sexual violence that can be defined as the creation, distribution, or threat of distribution of someone else’s sexual image with consent. In other words, I did a lot of work on dick pics and revenge porn. When I would talk with friends and family, and even other researchers in the field, about my research, one of the most common responses I would get would be something like: “Oh, I wouldn’t mess with the internet, there’s a lot of nasty people out there. Don’t you worry the trolls will target you?”. Of course, as a woman on the internet, I wasn’t blind to this possibility. I’ve seen the scenario where activists, journalists, researchers, and just normal everyday people, and especially women and trans individuals, queer folks, or people of color, are targeted when they speak up and chased off of online spaces and reminded that the internet is “not for them”. Or as Kimmel put it:  “[The internet is] a man cave, a politically incorrect locker room, where you can say whatever you feel like saying without having to back it up with something as inconvenient as evidence and still hide behind a screen of anonymity so that no one knows that you’re the jerk you secretly think you might be. That’s a recipe for rage” (Kimmel, 2013, p. 115). 

    Gender- and sexuality-based harassment refers to any form of unwelcome comments that aim to insult or cause distress to another person because of their gender or sexuality. This type of harassment is by no means something new and exclusive to the cybersphere, but the perceived anonymity and often the mob-like mentality of the internet appears to have breathed new life in it. Forms of gender- and sexuality-based harassment include but are not limited to, threats of sexual violence like rape, hate speech, the use of online discussion boards to promote rape-supportive attitudes, reputation harming lies, and cyber-attacks that shut down blogs and websites (Henry & Powell, 2018; Citron, 2009). Although at first glance instances of harassment online might appear to be isolated or random, anonymous cyber-mobs tend to systematically and disproportionally target women, members of the LGBTQ+, and people of color (Citron, 2009). 

    This type of harassment is particularly evident in the gaming community. Research has shown that female gamers are more likely to experience abuse or sexual harassment from other players and are more likely to report being called names with sexual meaning (Ballard & Welch, 2017). In addition, a study showed that female voices were more likely to receive negative comments and treatment from the other players (Kuznekoff & Rose, 2013). Perhaps, as a response to this, female players are much more likely to engage in gender masking, an attempt to conceal their true gender identity through the use of male or gender-neutral usernames and avatars (Fox & Tang, 2017). This could indicate that women make decisions, often before they even start playing, to avoid gender-specific harassment (Fox & Tang, 2017). The pervasive gender-specific harassment in the gaming community is exemplified by the event known as #GamerGate (Mortensen, 2018). Some of the main targets of this online harassment campaign were game designer Zoe Quinn, feminist critic Anita Starkesian, game developer Brianna Wu, and actress Felicia Day who all had their personal information and address published online (i.e., they were doxed), and as a result had to receive protection or leave their homes (Mortensen, 2018). 

    Another form of gender-specific harassment that is becoming increasingly more popular is the posting of misogynistic threads on blogs, forums, and websites such as Incels.me, /r/redpill, the pick-up artist community, etc., that are collectively commonly referred to as the manosphere. Despite some conflicting agendas and tribalism, these groups unify over a common vehement opposition to feminism, a general antagonistic attitude towards women and the use of discourse so hyperbolically misogynistic that it was been dubbed as “Rapeglish” (Jane, 2014). Such discourse is often reframed as “acceptable” and a form of uniquely technologically bound type of humor of little consequence (Drakett et al., 2018). However, it is of great importance to not overlook online misogynistic rhetoric or online harassment, sexual or otherwise, of women and marginalized groups. This is because, similarly to different forms of TFSV, the effects of this form of gender-specific harassment are not restricted to cyberspace. An egregious example of this is the van attack in Toronto on April 23, 2018 (Mehler & Saminather, 2018). Shortly after posting on his Facebook wall the message: “The Incel Rebellion has begun!”, Alek Minassian drove a van through a crowd, killing 10 and injuring 16 (Mehler & Saminather, 2018). It is believed that Minassian was inspired by Elliot Rogers, who stabbed and shot 6 people to death near the UCLA campus, after posting his manifesto online, in which he asserted that his perceived rejection by women was what drove him to his actions (Larkin, 2018). 

    Alarmingly, such behaviors might be viewed as justifiable by those who perpetuate them. Sexual aggressors often hold beliefs of male dominance, hostility towards women, and rape myths, which skew their world view and serve as a means of legitimizing sexual aggression (Ryan, 2004). Online spaces, like the “manosphere” where such beliefs are common, might act as a forum where online acts of sexual abuse and gender-and sexuality-based harassment are encouraged, justified, and supported, especially in situations where masculinity was perceived to be slighted (DeKeseredy & Schwartz, 2016). For example, in a recent study, after reading a series of scenarios depicting cases of online sexual harassment, male participants attributed most of the responsibility onto the victims, especially when the victim was deemed as “aggressive” in their rejection (Zhong et al., 2020). 

    Taken together, it appears that gender-specific rhetoric in the form of rape threats and misogynistic discourse is thriving in cyberspace. Generally, online sexual harassment often takes place in public spaces like forums or comment sections of social media accounts where multiple people can read them. Bystanders are central to the dynamic of online harassment, whether they choose to side with the perpetrator, the victim, or remain passive viewers of the incident. Given that many victims are unlikely to report sexual harassment, observers of the harassment may play a key role in putting a stop to future incidents and supporting the victim (Moxey & Bussey, 2019). Taking this into consideration, the involvement of bystanders in the perpetuation of harm becomes significant. Therefore, it’s up to us to stand up to online harassment when we come across it, which could lead to better support for the victims and ultimately a better online experience for many! 

                                                                                                                                                                                - By Vasileia Karasavva

References 

Ballard, M. E., & Welch, K. M. (2017). Virtual Warfare: Cyberbullying and Cyber-Victimization in MMOG Play. Games and Culture, 12(5), 466–491. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412015592473 

DeKeseredy, W. S., & Schwartz, M. D. (2016). Thinking Sociologically About Image-Based Sexual Abuse: The Contribution of Male Peer Support Theory. Sexualization, Media, & Society, 2(4), 237462381668469. https://doi.org/10.1177/2374623816684692 

Drakett, J., Rickett, B., Day, K., & Milnes, K. (2018). Old jokes, new media – Online sexism and constructions of gender in Internet memes. Feminism & Psychology, 28(1), 109–127. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959353517727560 

Fox, J., & Tang, W. Y. (2017). Women’s experiences with general and sexual harassment in online video games: Rumination, organizational responsiveness, withdrawal, and coping strategies. New Media & Society, 19(8), 1290–1307. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444816635778 

Henry, N., & Powell, A. (2018). Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence: A Literature Review of Empirical Research. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 19(2), 195–208. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838016650189 

Jane, E. A. (2014). ‘Back to the kitchen, cunt’: Speaking the unspeakable about online misogyny. Continuum, 28(4), 558–570. https://doi.org/10.1080/10304312.2014.924479 

Keats Citron, D. (2009). Law’s Expressive Value in Combating Cyber Gender Harassment. All Faculty Publications, 108. 

Kimmel, M. (2013). Angry white men: American masculinity at the end of an era. Hachette UK. 

Kuznekoff, J. H., & Rose, L. M. (2013). Communication in multiplayer gaming: Examining player responses to gender cues. New Media & Society, 15(4), 541–556. 

Larkin, R. W. (2018). Learning to Be a Rampage Shooter: The Case of Elliot Rodger. In H. Shapiro (Ed.), The Wiley Handbook on Violence in Education (pp. 69–84). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118966709.ch4 

CALL for SPW (APA Division 35) Campus Representative Applicants

Among universities and colleges across the country, SPW Campus Representatives promote feminist scholarship, research, activism, and practice; give a face to Division 35 among students, and encourage awareness about diversity and social intersections as they affect women’s lives. Campus Representatives are supported by their fellow Representatives and the Student Representative as they create and organize programming that highlights feminist thought in psychology on their campus.  

Campus Representative duties, to be accomplished over the 2020-2021 academic year (September 1, 2020-July 31, 2021, include: 

1) Create and execute at least 2 SPW-related events 

2) Write a minimum of 2 FemPop blog posts

Both graduate and undergraduate students are welcome to apply!

--

APPLICATIONS DUE BY FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 2020. Please find the link to the application and information below: 

Link to Application: https://forms.gle/gfPPmEzs5y63yEth7

Current Campus Representatives: http://www.apadivisions.org/division-35/leadership/campus-representatives/index.aspx

FemPop Blog: http://fempopculture.blogspot.com/

Please email the Division 35 Student Representative, Bhanu Priya Moturu(bpmoturu@umd.edu) with any questions.

Young boys and Feminist Ideology // Kristin Vierra

Lately, I have begun to contemplate how societal gender roles influence the well-being of young boys. Being that this is a feminist blog, I want to take a moment to bridge the content of this blog post to feminist ideologies. Feminists often share a common ideology (Polletta & Jasper, 2001). Namely, a consciousness of society’s traditional gender discriminations and openness to coming together with others to oppose discrimination (Downing & Roush, 1985). With this being said, I was intrigued to better understand how young boys view masculine gender roles, and how the adoption or resistance of masculine gender roles influences their overall well-being and more importantly, their friendships with fellow male peers.

         I will begin with a general discussion of masculinity. What does one think of when they think of a masculine individual? A masculine individual is often characterized as unemotional, competent, heterosexual, and competitive. I will also point out, that for young boys, attempts to veer away from masculine traits are often seen as unacceptable acts (Ruble et al., 2007). This indicates that masculine traits are strictly enforced during boyhood. If these are the guidelines necessary to be labeled masculine and avoid ridicule from fellow peers, it can be hard for young boys to show their authentic selves and express their emotional states. Imagine the hardship a young boy must face as he avoids a sense of authenticity. For instance, after receiving a poor grade, he seeks comfort from peers and faces ridicule for expressing his emotions. Instead, he does his best to ignore his poor grade and disconnects with his authentic self and any form of peer support.

With a constant requirement to steer away from expressing emotional states and their authentic self, masculine norms often deteriorate close relationships between young males. Without a close friend to express oneself to, young boys often develop outcomes such as low self-esteem, depression, and aggression (Addis, 2008; Chu, Porche, & Tolman, 2005). I myself lean on peers when I am feeling down. I have a hard time imagining how I would feel without the close relationships I hold with my peers.

            It is clear that a lack of close friendships has the power to damage the well-being of young boys. But how can young boys benefit from a close friendship? Really, what is the point of all of this? A close friendship has the potential to allot psychological well-being by providing an avenue of peer support and companionship (Helgeson & Lopez, 2010; Mendelson & Aboud, 1999). Without the pressure to maintain emotional stoicism, boys are free to discuss their emotions and work together to overcome stressful life events. Relating back to the example of the boy who received a poor grade, this child can open up to his peers and express how he is feeling. Instead of reticule, his friends can listen and validate what he is experiencing. Instead of ignoring his problems, he can express his authentic self and feel supported by his peers.

No matter who you are, you deserve to have a friend that you can lean. The idea that boys must be unemotional only leads to poor mental health outcomes (Addis, 2008; Chu, Porche, & Tolman, 2005). I want to point out that this post can relate to men too. Keep this blog post in mind when considering all the important boys and men in your life. Make sure they have someone they can connect and talk with.

I do wish to point to intersectional elements that were missed within this blog post. For instance, how might boys of color juggle both gender and ethnic stereotypes? Or how might a transgender male manage masculine gender roles? I also want to stress that I do not wish to generalize that all boys and men strongly endorse masculine gender roles or find trouble expressing their emotions.

By Kristin Vierra

References

            Addis, M. E. (2008). Gender and depression in men. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 15(3), 153–168. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2850.2008.00125.x

            Chu, J. Y., Porche, M. V., & Tolman, D. L. (2005). The adolescent masculinity ideology in          relationships scale: Development and validation of a new measure for boys. Men and Masculinities, 8(1), 93–115. https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X03257453

            Downing, N. E., & Roush, K. L. (1985). From passive acceptance to active commitment: A         model of feminist identity development for women. The Counseling

            Helgeson, V. S., & Lopez, L. (2010). Social support and growth following adversity. Handbook of adult resilience (pp. 309-330). New York, NY, US: The Guilford Press.

            Mendelson, M. J., & Aboud, F. E. (1999). Measuring friendship quality in late adolescents and    young adults: McGill friendship questionnaires. Canadian Journal of Behavioral       Science, 31(2), 130-132. doi:10.1037/h0087080

            Polletta, F., & Jasper, J. M. (2001). Collective identity and social movements. Annual Review of Sociology, 27, 283–305. Psychologist, 13(4), 695-709. doi:10.1177/0011000085134013

            Ruble, D. N., Taylor, L. J., Cyphers, L., Greulich, F. K., Lurye, L. E., & Shrout, P. E. (2007).      The role of gender constancy in early gender development. Child Development, 78(4),       1121-1136. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01056.x

Pop Culture in the Pandemic // Grace Fowler

We can all agree that we have probably heard enough about COVID-19 and the daily updates about the prognosis of the world can feel exhausting. Yet we are endlessly fascinated with pop culture representations of disasters and diseases. As the seriousness of the pandemic has increased, so has the prevalence of people searching for pandemic movies on Google. Perhaps there is an odd comfort to catastrophizing our own experience through movies, as if to contextualize an invisible threat into the very visible world Matt Damon and Goop herself. As mental health professionals, we typically tell our clients to practice their safe coping skills whenever they begin to catastrophize to reduce their anxiety.  In this situation, however, throwing ourselves head long into the panic of another world might be the best we can do to cope. At least in the movies, we have a reassurance that the story will be wrapped up and answers will be had.

A quick review of top disaster movie lists revealed that many of our favorite panic movies are male-centered. Maybe it’s too difficult to pass the Bechdel Test when a tsunami is hurtling toward the shore or a pandemic threatens the globe. Or maybe these films reflect a harsh reality in our lives: disaster impacts are highly gendered. The last few times a virus or illness has swept through the globe, women’s earning ability took longer to recover than their male counterparts. As many people are forced to shelter at home and schools close down, women are more likely to be called on to provide care for the whole family, sick or not. In situations like this pandemic, the second shift never ends; boundaries between work life and home life are so continuously blurred that women may find it difficult to delineate between all the responsibilities they hold. We still have a long way to go before we reach the end of the particular crisis, but I urge you dear readers, enjoy your pandemic movies while dividing up labor in an egalitarian way. Just because society has ground to a halt does not mean that feminism must.
                                                                                                                      - Grace Fowler

Self-Compassion During Coronavirus: A gendered issue? // Kylie Steinhilber

Picture from: Zaie / Adobe Stock https://stock.adobe.com/contributor/205935674/zaie

As I sit down to write this article, I feel that writing about anything other than the global coronavirus crisis would lack the critical awareness we all need at this moment. We know that coronavirus, as with all health issues, impacts people in ways that benefit some groups and disadvantages others due to disparities in the distribution and access to resources, such as health care, food, housing, etc. Moreover, coronavirus has impacts far beyond its impact on physical health.

Media is also bringing to light the ways in which precautionary practices and coping can be a gendered and racialized issue, as reflected in the concerns of Black men who fear for their safety if they were to wear bandanas or face coverings (Aviles, 2020). These concerns bring to light how suggested ways of protecting oneself against coronavirus are misaligned with the reality of racism in America.  Additionally, feminist scholars have called coronavirus a “Disaster for Feminism”, as self-isolation has threatened women’s financial impendence and pushed them into increased unpaid labor tasks within the home that are tied to traditional feminine gender roles (Lewis, 2020). Therefore, race and gender have a large influence on the ways in which people cope in response to coronavirus and are often misaligned with the “best practices” proposed.

Each person’s experience during this time is individualized and unique, but a common thread is that it is difficult, distressing, and exhausting, to cope. As a coping strategy, self-compassion is much needed – and many have encouraged others to practice it. Self-compassion involves having kindness towards oneself, a sense of common experience across humanity, and mindfulness. Self-compassion is a message spread around social media, even by myself, in hopes of assuaging people’s undue guilt, shame, and/or self-criticism about not coping well. (But perhaps the idea that one can swiftly cope well in response to such an unprecedented issue, may be a façade in and of itself.) Some have compared this time as grief process and have suggested self-compassion as a way of processing our grief (Berinato, 2020). But, is self-compassion also a gendered issue?

A meta-analysis has found that across studies, men are more self-compassionate than women (Yarnell et al., 2015). Authors of the meta-analysis actually suggest that the socialization of women towards care-taking roles may not transfer over towards self-compassion. Rather, women self-sacrifice at their own expense. Because self-compassion is also associated with better well-being, this may mean that women’s wellbeing, is negatively impacted more than men in the long-term. However, research has also indicated that this is not due to one’s self-identified gender alone. Rather, those who more highly endorse traditionally feminine and masculine gender roles report higher self-compassion (Yarnell et al., 2018). Therefore, those who find themselves somewhere in-between, or egalitarian, are less likely to be self-compassionate. So what does this mean for women, amid coronavirus, especially feminist women who typically reject traditional gender role division?

On the one hand, this may indicate that we need to practice self-compassion even more, strengthening that muscle. On the other hand, perhaps self-compassion is not the right coping tool for everyone. Or, perhaps self-compassion is only one part of the puzzle… In response to coronavirus, we must be mindful that the strategies proposed to mitigate the spread of the illness and to cope in the face of it may not be easy, relatable, or accessible to practice for all.

                                                                                               
                                                                                                          - Kylie Steinhilber

References:

Aviles, G. (2020, April 9). Black men fear homemade coronavirus masks could exacerbate racial profiling. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-men-fear-homemade-masks-could-exacerbate-racial-profiling-n1179236

Lewis, H. (2020, March 19). The Cornavirus is a Disaster for Feminism. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/03/feminism-womens-rights-coronavirus-covid19/608302/

Yarnell, L. M., Stafford, R. E., Neff, K. D., Reilly, E. D., Knox, M. C., & Mullarkey, M. (2015). Meta-analysis of gender differences in self-compassion. Self and Identity, 14(5), 499-520.

Yarnell, L. M., Neff, K. D., Davidson, O. A., & Mullarkey, M. (2019). Gender differences in self-compassion: Examining the role of gender role orientation. Mindfulness, 10(6), 1136-1152.

Why Isn’t Your Feminism Intersectional? // Angel McKissic, M.A., TLLP

In the past week, Target ran an ad for one of their Black-woman owned brands, The Honey Pot, a smart line of hygiene products, ranging from cotton pads to wipes. The commercial featured the brand’s owner, Beatrice Dixon, telling her story of entrepreneurship and that it was important for her brand to succeed because it would increase opportunities for other Black women and girl entrepreneurs.

Any meaningful concept of “feminism” includes (or should) the position that women, non-binary, and femme identified folx show up for each other in whatever decisions we make about our lives and recognize that our experiences are constituted by the intersection of all the identities we occupy. In other words, intersectional feminists fight for and uplift everyone’s right to author their lives. Moreover, an intersectional feminism acknowledges that the fight is against a system that devalues anything that resembles the socially constructed concept of femininity, thus the movement must include advocacy for all individuals who do not perform the socially acceptable standard of masculinity, because those who exist outside of it are systematically and pervasively subject to marginalization.

            Cut to the day of the Target commercial and the subsequent onslaught of deplorable comments left on The Honey Pot’s TrustPilot page, and the social media of attacks aimed at the company and Beatrice herself. As a Black woman, it came as no surprise that most of these comments were left by White women claiming that Target and The Honey Pot’s owner were unnecessarily, even maliciously, using race, more specially, Blackness, in the brand’s storyline. One could write a robust dissertation on the numerous ways in which these complaints are problematic, not the least of which many of those women failed to realize that the ad aired in February, which is Black History Month. Target, among a slew of other companies use the month to highlight the Black business owners whose products they sell or endorse. But never mind this fact, because while we cannot know if those women who left the comments identify as feminists, the White women who do, have responded with a deafening silence, which begs the question - Is the attack on Beatrice and her company not worthy of mainstream feminist outrage? Apparently not.

            One does not have to look far to find failures of the mainstream feminist movement. Where are the outcries of White feminists on the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women? What about the disproportionate killing of Black trans women? And how about the Black women who have been murdered by police? This is not to mention the nearly total exclusion of gender non-conforming and non-binary femmes from the concern and agenda of the mainstream feminism. Again and again we witness mainstream White feminism abandoning women of color and femmes because of a lack of intersectional ideology. The mainstream feminist movement has always been deeply drenched in White supremacy and heteronormativity. So, per usual, Black women, women of color, and queer folx show up for their communities in the void left by White feminism. Case in point, Black publications like Essence, published a response form Beatrice a few days after the incident. Black women on social media have been calling for others to counter the vitriolic comments left on the page with positive reviews, and Beatrice has been featured on The Real, a daytime talk show hosted by an all women of color cast. In the end, this is the old playbook of mainstream feminism, so it is up to a new generation of Black, brown, and queer women/femmes to call out feminist movements that claim to empower and uplift women, when the reality is they are leaving behind the most marginalized women and femmes. If your feminism is not inclusive, then it is not revolutionary nor radical.

You can find The Honey Pot products here.

By Angel McKissic, M.A., TLLP

Towards a Greater Consciousness // Sandra Yankah, M.S.

The human brain has a tendency to continually employ strategies that make it easier and faster to categorize, pass judgments and make decisions. Ideally, these shortcuts result in more efficiency and lessen the expenditure of unnecessary energy. However, there are many pitfalls associated with these mental shortcuts. Automatic versus controlled processing can be compared to the ubiquitous and uncontrolled processes involved with implicit learning versus the effort associated with deliberate learning. Controlled processing is seen as deliberate, conscious, and effortful. Uncontrolled processing is seen as occurring without effort or awareness.

Automatic processing helps us with the continuity between the old and new. It often saves us time by allowing us to complete a task without consciously thinking about them. Consequently, we are constantly engaging automatically with the world. Examples of mental shortcuts associated with automatically analyzing the world include schemas and scripts. Schemas are mental structures people use to quickly organize the world. Scripts are standards of behavior and resulting consequences that are expected in specific environments or contexts. The difficulty with these phenomena is that they are not culturally universal and can be tied to deleterious processes such as prejudice and discrimination. Within the field of psychology, we frequently study how implicit beliefs and attitudes affect an individual's explicit behaviors or expressions.

 Implicit refers to something that is held internally and can refer to attitudes or beliefs that are not in immediate awareness. Explicit refers to the physical manifestation of implicitly held beliefs or attitudes. A concrete understanding of how these processes influence and relate to each other is particularly important in real-world contexts. For example, policing is a practice that requires individuals to make quick decisions under stressful conditions. Failing to acknowledge the effects of implicit processes that influence decisions like whether or not to use deadly force can have disastrous results. Interventions that have been developed to help combat this problem include guiding individuals through exercises that allow them to recognize and acknowledge implicit feelings of bias, fear, or prejudice. The aim of these exercises is not to eliminate these components of thinking, but to help people to recognize that they exist so that they think twice before engaging in actions that have the propensity to be harmful to others. These exercises can be applied in our every day lives as well. Carefully examining the origin of our own attitudes and beliefs provides a greater awareness of how they directly or indirectly influence the way that we engage with the world around us.

By Sandra Yankah, M.S.

Women, Safety Anxiety, and The Rise of True Crime Podcasts // Jaclyn A. Siegel

Content Warning: Physical and sexual violence against women

Over the past few years, true crime-related podcasts have become a part of the zeitgeist. The popularity of podcasts as a medium can arguably be attributed to the investigative journalism series Serial, in which NPR reporter Sarah Koenig revisited the details of Hae Min Lee’s murder and the case against Adnan Syed. Other investigative journalism podcasts, such as Finding Cleo (the plight of missing and murdered Indigenous women, particularly Cleopatra Semaganis Nicotine), Cold (the murder of Susan Cox Powell and her two sons), In Your Own Backyard (the murder of Kristin Smart), Root of Evil (the murder of the “Black Dahlia”), and Man in the Window (the tactics and strategies of the Golden State Killer), have also topped the charts in recent years. Millions of listeners tune in each week to five-star-rated podcasts such as Crime Junkie and My Favourite Murder to “get their fix” of true crime. These podcasts are not just entertaining: in some cases, they have actually played a role in identifying victims (e.g., Bear Brook) and solving cold cases (e.g., Up and Vanished).

A few months ago, I took a deep dive into the true crime podcast world and have since become quite the “true crime junkie.” Not only do I listen to the podcasts, but I also subscribe to two of them on Patreon for bonus content and am a member of a Facebook group for listeners. I even recently purchased tickets to a live show in New York to see my favourite podcasters (Gillian Pensavale and Patrick Hinds, True Crime Obsessed) provide their commentary on a true crime documentary (note: I live and study in Canada). The combination of intrigue and horror created by these stories has left me completely engrossed in the world of true crime. I am not alone in this: more and more people, and women in particular, find themselves drawn to crime-related media content (Tuttle, 2019; Vicary & Fraley, 2010).

Survey research consistently shows that, while men listen to podcasts marginally more regularly than women, women comprise the overwhelming majority of true crime podcast listeners (Joyce, 2018). Various explanations have been proposed for this phenomenon: (1) although most podcasting is done by men, the hosts of true crime-related podcasts are often women, (2) in some cases, female hosts infuse personal anecdotes into the narratives, making them relatable to women, and (3) other podcasts are specifically geared toward male-typed topics (e.g., sports, politics) while murder is less gender-specific. Perhaps the most compelling explanation for women’s attraction to these stories, however, is that (4) true crime stories validate women’s fears about experiencing violent crimes themselves.

Women – particularly women with marginalized identities – consistently report higher rates of personal safety anxiety and vigilance than men (Riger & Gordon, 1981; Riggs & Cook, 2014). This may seem somewhat paradoxical, as men are more likely to experience nearly all forms of violent crime (Cotter & Savage, 2019). Yet, women (especially those who are transgender or queer) are disproportionately victimized by crimes of a sexual nature (Cotter & Savage, 2019; Stotzer, 2009). College-aged women report a variety of situations in which they are afraid of being raped and engage in numerous safety-related behaviors out of fear of rape (e.g., “avoid accepting help with my car from guys I don’t know”, “avoid walking through parking lots”, “carry something to use as a weapon”, “refrain from drinking around guys I don’t know”; Hickman & Huehlenhard, 1997).

The “shadow of sexual assault hypothesis” (Ferraro, 1995) proposes that, given the “ever-present” concern of sexual assault, women’s fear of being raped “shadows” their fear of experiencing all other forms of violence (Fisher & Sloan, 2003). Research has supported this hypothesis: According to survey research, although women express more fear of experiencing nearly all forms of violent crimes – and perceive themselves to be at a higher risk of experiencing violent crimes – women’s fear of rape can help to explain their concerns about potentially being victimized by myriad types of crime (Fisher & Sloan, 2003).

Notably, women report experiencing unwanted sexual attention or behavior in public, private, and online places and spaces more often than men, and thirty percent of Canadian women report lifetime experiences of sexual assault (Cotter & Savage, 2019). All of these experiences, from catcalling to unwanted touching to sexual violence, occur along a spectrum of sexual objectification, a common and uncontrollable experience in women’s lives. As proposed by Objectification Theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), experiencing sexual objectification can remind women that, regardless of their other personal attributes and characteristics, they walk through the world as bodies, bodies that can be harmed and violated. Women may even adopt an objectified self-perspective to anticipate and control their social treatment (Roberts, 2004). The threat of sexual violence is inherent in all experiences of sexual objectification, even those that may seem benign or flattering. Research suggests that experiencing sexual harassment can not only increase women’s self-objectification but also can increase their fear and perceived risk of rape (Fairchild & Rudman, 2008). The fear of being raped produced by experiencing sexual objectification can explain, in part, women’s fear of experiencing all forms of crime (Watson, Marszalek, Dispenza, & Davids, 2015).

Listening to true crime podcasts is a way that women can have their fear of rape and crime validated. For many of us, these gruesome stories do not merely serve as entertainment: they remind us that our fears are legitimate and in many cases can provide tips and tricks for staying safe (e.g., “Crime Junkie Life Rules”). These strategies may not protect us in practice, but they can help us feel more prepared and empowered to protect ourselves. While consuming crime-related media content may actually increase perceptions of crime risk and fear of crime (Callanan, 2012), we are drawn to them because these are our stories: our friends’, our families’, and – if we are not careful – our own.

“Stay sexy and don’t get murdered” (My Favorite Murder). “Be weird, be rude, stay alive” (Crime Junkie). More than merely catchphrases, these slogans are our warnings, our hopes, and our prayers.

References

Callanan, V. J. (2012). Media consumption, perceptions of crime risk and fear of crime: Examining race/ethnic differences. Sociological Perspectives, 55(1), 93-115. https://doi.org/10.1525/sop.2012.55.1.93

Cotter, A., & Savage, L. (2019, December 5). Gender-based violence and unwanted sexual behaviour in Canada, 2018: Initial findings from the Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces. Statistics Canada. Retrieved from: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2019001/article/00017-eng.htm

Fairchild, K., & Rudman, L. A. (2008). Everyday stranger harassment and women’s objectification. Social Justice Research, 21, 338-357. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11211-008-0073-0

Ferraro, K. F. (1995) Fear of crime: Interpreting victimization risk. State University of New York Press, New York.

Fisher, B. S., & Sloan, J. J. (2003). Unraveling the fear of victimization among college women: Is the “shadow of sexual assault hypothesis” supported? Justice Quarterly, 30(3), 633-659. Doi: 10.1080/07418820300095641

Fredrickson, B. L., & Roberts, T.-A. (1997). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women’s lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21(2), 173-206. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00108.x

Hickman, S. E., & Huehlenhard, C. L. (1997). College women’s fears and precautionary behaviors relating to acquaintance rape and stranger rape. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21(4), 527-547. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00129.x

Joyce, G. (2018). Podcast audiences: Why are women such big fans of true crime podcasts? Brandwatch [online] https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/react-podcast-audiences/

Riger, S., & Gordon, M. T. (1981). The fear of rape: A study in social control. Journal of Social Issues, 37(4), 71-92. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1981.tb01071.x

Riggs, S., & Cook, C. L. (2014). The shadow of physical harm? Examining the unique and gendered relationship between fear of murder versus fear of sexual assault on fear of violent crime. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 30(14), 2383-2409. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260514553117

Roberts, T.-A. (2004). Female trouble: The menstrual self-evaluation scale and women’s self-objectification. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 28(1), 22-26. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2004.00119.x

Stotzer, R. L. (2009). Violence against transgender people: A review of United States data. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 14(3), 170–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2009.01.006

Tuttle, K. (2019, July 16). Why do women love true crime? New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/16/books/review/kate-tuttle-true-crime-women.html.

Vicary, A. M., & Fraley, R. C. (2010). Captured by true crime: Why are women drawn to tales of rape, murder, and serial killers? Social Psychological and Personality Science, 1(1), 81-88. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550609355486

Watson, L. B., Marszalek, J. M., Dispenza, F., & Davids, C. M. (2015). Understanding the relationships among White and African American women’s sexual objectification experiences, physical safety anxiety, and psychological distress. Sex Roles, 72, 91-104. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-014-0444-y

Allowing is Not the Same as Supporting: How to Support Women in STEM // Jonette M. Peretik

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) career fields have historically been considered male-dominated domains.  STEM careers include biological/environmental, physical, computer and mathematical, social, and engineering sciences.  For at least the past two decades, women have earned around 57% of all the awarded STEM bachelor’s degrees and have finally caught up to around 50% of all the awarded STEM doctoral degrees; however, there is a discrepancy between major fields of study (National Science Board, 2019a).  Doctorates held by women in engineering (24%), mathematics and computer science (25%), chemistry (39%), and physics (18%) still remain significantly lower than their male colleagues (National Science Board, 2019a).  In contrast, women have recently earned half or more of the doctorates in biological sciences (52%), psychology (73%), and sociology (61%) (National Science Board, 2019a).  Even though there is still a noticeable gap in STEM degrees between men and women, there is an even larger discrepancy in the way men and women use their degrees. 

Roughly half of all individuals who have earned the highest degree in their respective STEM fields are not actually employed in a STEM career (National Science Board, 2019b).  Furthermore, the percentage of doctorate holders employed as full-time faculty members have been steadily declining since the 1970s to less than 70% as of 2017 (National Science Board, 2019b).  Although earning about half of the STEM doctorates, women only make up 43% of full-time junior faculty, 32% of full-time senior faculty, and 34% of the doctorate holders employed in any STEM career (National Science Board, 2019b).  This data begs the question, “Where do all of the women PhDs go?”. 

How do we lose so many women along the so-called STEM pipeline?  The STEM pipeline is a metaphorical description of the career trajectory beginning with high school (sometimes even earlier in education), continuing through undergraduate education, funneling into graduate education and post-doctoral work, and finally launching onto the faculty stepladder (Blickenstaff, 2005; Cannady, Greenwald, & Harris, 2014; Xie & Shauman, 2003).  Much research has already shown a leak in the pipeline, particularly amongst women, but there is not a clear consensus as to the cause of the leak (Tanenbaum & Upton, 2014).  The historical explanation blamed socially engrained gender bias in the recruitment of women into STEM-based on competency and interest differences (e.g., men are better at math and science).  However, after ramping up efforts in recruitment, more women than men are entering into STEM, but the men are still the majority to emerge victoriously into the coveted faculty positions (June, 2015).  Interventions aimed at retention along the education portion of the pipeline only defer the leak to later stages.  Increasing social support increases retention at earlier stages.  Many women like to know they are not alone in the grueling gauntlet of STEM career training.  One study done at Ohio institutions showed the likelihood of women to complete their doctoral degree positively correlated with the number of women in the program (Doctorates, 2017; Flaherty, 2018; Wolfson, 2018).  Academic/content support systems intervene to ensure all students make the necessary grades.  Some institutions even offer additional support to perpetuate motivation, decrease burnout, and enhance the effectiveness of interpersonal skills when stepping into an intimidating setting of a traditionally male-dominated career (Stoneman, 2019).  These solutions just seem to delay the inevitable, possibly making the dropout more painful after all of the hard work. 

The competitive environment for STEM careers can be rigorous and intense.  Consistent with the typical personality traits of the female gender, many women express dissatisfaction with the cut-throat, political climate of the STEM field (Mavriplis et al., 2010).  Additionally, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and junior faculty oftentimes work in excess of a 40-hour week, especially at research-heavy institutions (Bowden, 2011).  There is a secret, unwritten STEM cultural rule that guilts its members into pushing the limits on loyalty of time (Woolston, 2017).  Being such a pervasive problem, the Obama administration attempted to alleviate the long hours by passing amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act (Polka & Szalinski, 2016).  Some women attempt to opt for part-time employment.  A survey of approximately 227,800 psychologists show women are almost twice as likely as men to take a part-time position, and women are 7 times more likely than men to cite family obligations as their reason (Conroy, Christidis, & Lin, 2019).  However, the problem is far from solved.  Even if not tied to a bench or research lab, STEM professionals will put in time attending seminars, workshops, and conferences, completing data analysis, and reading, writing, and reviewing papers and grants.  Additionally, the concept of an Early Stage Investigator, a special advantage when applying for funding for the first ten years after earning their doctorate (National Institutes of Health, n.d.), tends to perpetuate the overworked dilemma through a fellowship and into their junior faculty position as they try to make efficient use of these privilege points. 

The current trend for women in STEM careers is to go through “downshifting” to maintain a family/work-life balance (Ceci, Williams, & Barnett, 2009).  While many factors play into the disappearance, downshifting, or leak of women from STEM careers, Tanenbaum and Upton eloquently describe the problem as maintaining the STEM career trajectory “conflicts with the biological clocks of women” (2014).  Given the length of time to complete the undergraduate and graduate degrees, many women enter into their postdoctoral or junior faculty stages with established or brand-new families.  Motherhood brings about a multitude of new considerations affecting one’s career: additional housework load, childcare arrangements, family vacations, healthcare, school involvement, time for self-care, and less ability to multitask versus work hours, bringing work home, traveling for conferences or study sections, and partaking in important professional networking.  The list is essentially endless.  It is not too hard to imagine how a 60-hour (or sometimes more) workweek is not conducive to work/life balance.  Inability to devote the desired amount of time to career and family will leave women feeling disloyal to one domain or the other and can result in frustration and guilt (Blair-Loy, 2003; McCausland, 2019).  To make matters more complicated, STEM career women tend to partner up with STEM career men, thus potentiating the demands on the STEM career family (Mavriplis et al., 2010). 

Although a part-time STEM position would seem like an ideal compromise to family/work-life balance, new mothers are leaving full-time STEM careers at an alarming rate with one study reporting prevalence as high as 43% (Cech & Blair-Loy, 2019; Else, 2019).  The structure of the STEM pipeline is rigid and unforgiving for women who end up with gaps in full-time STEM employment due to motherhood or other family commitments.  When returning from this break, oftentimes the woman is viewed as less committed than her male counterparts and is, therefore, less competitive for tenure and grant funding (Mavriplis et al., 2010).  Part-time employment does not offer the same financial, tenure, or funding benefits as full-time positions.  Eventually, the new mother feels forced to succumb to a demanding work schedule to attempt to overcome these new barriers on career advancement and success, amplifying the already strained time for family obligations.  Those women who find staying in the STEM pipeline is incongruent with their family values are the ones who leak from the STEM pipeline. 

What exactly is the magic solution for the family versus career conundrum?  How can we truly and fully support women in STEM careers?  The National Science Foundation's ADVANCE program has invested over $270 million dollars targeted towards the recruitment and retention of women in the STEM field (National Science Foundation, n.d.).  Some of the research focuses on reviewing recruitment, promotion, and tenure policies, addressing work-life balance satisfaction by looking at institutional climate, feelings of isolation, and dual-career hiring policies, and providing training and mentorship to enable a woman to navigate tenure policies and leadership development.  However, as wonderful the intent, “Providing workshops, training, timely feedback on progress, and coaching on the tenure and promotion processes to all faculty” (National Science Foundation, n.d.) still sounds like policy makers are missing the point.  Lack of understanding the rigorous guidelines and expectations of a STEM career is not the problem with women leaking out of STEM.  Having to choose between family and career to meet these expectations is the problem.

Women in STEM need better resources and real changes to the policies precluding them from advancing in the career they were told could be within their dreams.  Women need to stop being treated as academic pariahs when choosing a non-linear track for their professional careers.  One anecdote reported by Mavriplis et al., (2010) expresses:

It’s difficult for any gender to be out of science, it’s hard to keep up. You fall out of social networks, keeping up appearances is important. I took 6 months off for a baby, and it was hard to come back. People who have families sometimes are seen as “worse” scientists, i.e. they don’t work hard enough (only 8 hours a day and not 12-14). When I had my first son, I was working harder than in my entire life trying to combine work and family, but nevertheless, I was seen as someone who is not doing a good enough job. It was very difficult. (p.146)

Women tend to have an idea of the expectations of being a career woman and the expectations of being a mother.  What women do not have is honest permission to intermingle their professional career goals with their families. 

            This is usually the part where one would state “additional research is necessary.”  However, it is not necessary.  Additional research has been done.  It is now necessary to make changes.  Hewlett et al. (2008) highlights new initiatives from 43 global STEM companies “that realign corporate cultures and redesign career paths to better fit the needs” of the women desiring to balance life and work in STEM careers.  Chaudhuri (2011) suggests addressing tenure-clock policies by pausing to accommodate childbirth and early childhood years.  Hill, Corbett, & St. Rose (2010) makes recommendations for each stage of the STEM pipeline including increasing mentorship for female faculty members.  Mavriplis et al. (2010) suggest making several system-level changes such as non-discriminatory re-entry process for women returning to the STEM careers after gaps due to childrearing, reducing requirement loads for tenure requiring mothers to juggle research, teaching, and community outreach with family obligations, and more explicit support of family life from “people in positions of power ” (p. 147).  Cech and Blair-Loy (2019) would like to see more states offering paid leave to parents for childcare, better and more prestigious part-time positions available at STEM institutions, and STEM leaders to explicitly challenge cultural bias against STEM mothers.  Goulden, Frasch, & Mason (2009) delineate several suggested changes for both the institutional and federal policy levels including time-based accommodations towards funding, tenure, leave, and re-entry, better childcare provisions, and enhanced financial benefits. 

            Mental health professionals (MHPs) can and need to help support women in STEM.  MHPs should learn and familiarize themselves with the STEM career culture to develop empathy for the challenges women in STEM face.  MHPs should be familiar with strategies available to STEM women walking the tightrope of work-family life balance (see Mavriplis et al., 2010 for suggestions on addressing the women’s needs, p.149).  MHPs should encourage and empower women to advocate for themselves.  Lastly, MHPs also need to advocate on behalf of STEM women to the policy makers and field leaders to change the way they view family fitting into a STEM career.  The bottom line is these changes are needed.  Changing the policy is only the first step.  These policy changes need to be explicitly supported by the STEM leaders, so much so that they are publicized as options and resources more often than the women are made to feel inferior and less competitive, either implicitly or explicitly, for wanting both family and a STEM career. 

By Jonette M. Peretik

References

Blair-Loy, M. (2003). Competing devotions: career and family among women executives. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Blickenstaff, J.C. (2005). Women and science careers: leaky pipeline or gender filter? Gender and Education, 17(4): 369–386. doi: 10.1080/09540250500145072

Bowden, R. (2011, April 1). Are long hours inevitable for postdocs? [web log post].  Nature. Retrieved from: http://blogs.nature.com/naturejobs/2011/04/01/are-long-working-hours-inevitable-for-postdocs/

Cannady, M.A., Greenwald, E. & Harris, K.N. (2014), Problematizing the STEM pipeline metaphor: Is the STEM pipeline metaphor serving our students and the STEM workforce? Science Education Policy, 98(3): 443-460. doi:10.1002/sce.21108

Cech, E.A. & Blair-Loy, M. (2019). The changing career trajectories of new parents in STEM. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(10): 4182-4187. doi: 10.1073/pnas. 1810862116

Ceci, S. J., Williams, W. M., & Barnett, S. M. (2009). Women’s underrepresentation in science: Sociocultural and biological considerations. Psychological Bulletin, 135(2), 218–261.

Chaudhuri, D. (2011). Career path barriers of women doctoral students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) disciplines. (master’s thesis). Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.

Conroy, J., Christidis, P., & Lin, L. (2019, November). Datapoint: Why psychologists take part-time jobs. Monitor on Psychology, 50(10). http://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/11/datapoint-part-time

Doctorates: PhD gender gap. (2017). Nature 545(517). doi:10.1038/nj7655-517a

Else, H. (2019, February 19). Nearly half of US female scientists leave full-time science after first child. Nature. doi: 10.1038/d41586-019-00611-1

Flaherty, C. (2018, September 18). ‘Nevertheless, she persisted.’: New analysis suggests that women's success in STEM Ph.D. programs has much to do with having female peers, especially in their first year in graduate school. Inside HigherEd. Retrieved from: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/09/18/new-analysis-suggests-womens-success-stem-phd-programs-has-much-do-having-female

Goulden, M., Frasch, K., & Mason, M.A. (2009). Staying competitive: Patching America’s leaky pipeline in the sciences. Berkeley: University of California, Berkeley Center on Health, Economic, & Family Security, & The Center for American Progress.

Hewlett, S.A., Buck Luce, C., Servon, L.J., Sherbin, L., Shiller, P., Sosnovich, E., & Sumberg, K. (2008). The athena factor: reversing the brain drain in science, engineering and technology (Harvard Business Review Research Report). Boston: Harvard Business Publishing

Hill, C., Corbett, C., & St. Rose, A. (2010). Why so few? Women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Washington, DC: American Association of University Women.

June, A.W. (2015). Why just filling the pipeline won’t diversify STEM fields. The Chronicle of Higher Education.  Retrieved from: https://www.chronicle.com/article/Why-Just-Filling-the-Pipeline/190253/

Mavriplis, C., Heller, R., Beil, C., Dam, K., Yassinskaya, N., Shaw, M., & Sorensen, C. (2010). Mind the gap: women in STEM career breaks. Journal of Technology Management & Innovation, 5(1): 140-151. doi:https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-27242010000100011

McCausland, M. (2019, February 25). It's so damn hard to be a mom in STEM and this new attrition stat proves it. Working Mother. Retrieved from: https://www.workingmother.com/ its-so-damn-hard-to-be-mom-in-stem-and-this-new-attrition-stat-proves-it

National Institutes of Health (n.d.) Early research career development. National Institutes of Health: Research Training and Career Development.  Retrieved from: https://researchtraining.nih.gov/career/early-career

National Science Board. (2019a). Science and engineering indicators 2020: higher education in science and engineering. Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation (NSB 2019-7).

National Science Board. (2019b). Science and engineering indicators 2020: science and engineering labor force. Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation (NSB 2019-8).

National Science Foundation. (n.d.). Advance: increasing the participation & advancement of women in academic science, technology, engineering, and mathematic careers. [bulletin]. National Science Foundation, 17-70.  Retrieved from: https://www.nsf.gov/ehr/Materials/ ADVANCEBrochure.pdf

Polka, J. & Szalinski, C. (2016). Fair labors standards act – what it means for postdocs. [web log post].  American Society for Cell Biology. Retrieved from: https://www.ascb.org/careers/ fair-labor-standards-act-means-postdocs/

Stoneman, A. (2019, March 26). Empowering women to cross the finish line for STEM doctoral degrees. ASU Now. Retrieved from: https://asunow.asu.edu/20190326-helping-women-cross-finish-line-stem-doctoral-degrees

Tanenbaum, C. & Upton, R. (2014). Early academic career pathways in STEM: Do gender and family status matter? STEM at American Institutes for Research. Retrieved from: https://www.air.org/sites/default/files/STEM%20PhD%20Early%20Academic %20Career%20Pathway_March%202014.pdf

Wolfson, A. (2018, September 15). An insidious reason women are less likely to get a STEM doctoral degree than men. MarketWatch.  Retrieved from: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/an-insidious-reason-women-are-less-likely-to-get-a-stem-doctoral-degree-than-men-2018-09-15

Woolston, C. (2017). Full-time is full enough. Nature, 546: 175-177. 

Xie, Y. & Shauman, K.A. (2003) Women in science., Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.