Task Force on Inclusion of Gender and Sexuality in Graduate Education

By Maureen C. McHugh

We welcome feminist psychologists who are interested, concerned or knowledgeable regarding the Inclusion of Gender and Sexuality in Graduate Education to join the new task force of Division 35. The task force is an initiative of Division 35 President Stephanie Shields and is chaired by Maureen C. McHugh.

In the late 1980s the inclusion of Psychology of Women into graduate training was a priority of the Division. We are asking, "What does gender integration look like today?" As diversity courses in graduate programs are asked/expected to cover an expanding list of identities and forms of oppression, has the coverage of gender decreased or disappeared? Do graduate students today receive training in how to explore intersections of identity (involving gender) and how to integrate these issues into therapy? Women persist as the majority of clients, but have we continued to expand or update our understanding of women, or of the operation of gender in our clients' lives? A related question concerns how much information regarding sexuality our graduates receive.

Newly formed, the task force is open to your ideas for how to survey current coverage of women, gender and sexuality in graduate programs preparing individuals for professional practice. We also welcome individuals who are interested in this as a research topic, and those who have ideas on how to achieve more breadth or depth in the coverage of these topics. In addition to results from a survey, the task force hopes to identify best practices in the inclusion of gender and sexuality in graduate education.

The task force envisions a report of its findings, one or more articles (in newsletters or journals) about its findings, and a series of recommendations that would be endorsed by Division 35 and forwarded to other committees within APA including the Committee on Accreditation.