Psychology of Women and Equalities Section
The Psychology of Women and Equalities Section (POWES) works within the BPS to highlight issues of gender and inequality in academic and applied psychology in order to positively influence policy and practice.
About
The primary purpose of the section is to promote the psychology of women in academic and professional domains and to inform the public and the discipline about psychological, social, and economic problems of women and minority groups.
Originally founded in 1988 as The Psychology of Women Section, the modern version of POWES works to encourage psychological research which challenges negative assumptions about minority groups and which challenges processes of exclusion, marginalisation and oppression in fields of study and practice, while also maintaining a strong inter-disciplinary focus, seeking to work and build inclusive alliances across disciplines.
The main aims of the Psychology of Women and Equalities Section are:
- to address gender issues and inequalities in the psychology curriculum
- to facilitate and develop feminist and emancipatory research, theory and practice
- to influence public policy in areas such as equal rights, parenting, and employment.
News
Events
Resources
Useful Links
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Psychology's Feminist Voices is an online, multimedia digital archive containing the stories of women of psychology's past and contemporary feminist psychologists who have shaped and continue to transform the discipline of psychology.
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American Psychological Association (Division 35)
The Society for the Psychology of Women is a division of the APA which provides an organizational base for all feminists, women and men of all national origins, who are interested in teaching, research, or practice in the psychology of women.
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Australian Psychological Society - Women and Psychology Interest Group
The Women and Psychology Interest Group aims to establish an active presence in every state and territory of Australia.
Publications
Psychology of Women and Equalities Review
A collection of papers that make significant and original contributions to the field of the psychology of women and equalities.
Find out more about the Psychology of Women and Equalities Review
Latest articles - Psychology of Women and Equalities Section Review
- Periodicals
Editorial - Psychology of Women and Equalities Section Review
Volume: 5 Issue: 2
Date of Publication: 01-01-2022
Author(s): Hannah Frith
- Periodicals
The importance of being trauma and gender-informed when working with women within the criminal justice system: A literature review - Psychology of Women and Equalities Section Review
Volume: 5 Issue: 1
Date of Publication: 01-01-2022
Author(s): April Phillips, Cerys Miles, Madeline Smyth
- Periodicals
Five Years On from the 2017 Menopause at Work Report: Progress, Potholes, Practical implementation and Prospective Research Pathways – Tabitha Pickup in conversation with Joanna Brewis - Psychology of Women and Equalities Section Review
Volume: 5 Issue: 2
Date of Publication: 01-01-2022
Author(s): Tabitha Pickup
- Periodicals
Under exposed: Qualitative exploration of the inequality, ill treatment, and powerlessness of actresses - Psychology of Women and Equalities Section Review
Volume: 5 Issue: 1
Date of Publication: 01-01-2022
Author(s): Frances Weir, Milda Perminiene
- Periodicals
Personalised normative feedback as an intervention for sexism and rape myth acceptance - Psychology of Women and Equalities Section Review
Volume: 5 Issue: 2
Date of Publication: 01-01-2022
Author(s): Rachel Skinner, John McAlaney, Terri Cole, Peter Hills
Awards & funding
POWES Professor Marcia Worrell Mentoring Award
Submissions are now closed
Professor Marcia Worrell was an exceptional colleague, mentor, advocate, tutor, and friend to an international community of students, academics and practitioners.
Her commitment to supporting others has inspired all who have worked with her since she began her academic career in 1992.
This award is in recognition of her ongoing impact and presence in the lives and work of the international POWES community, specifically recognising her exceptional capabilities to inspire and mentor others.
We welcome nominations for the award for mentors who:
- Demonstrate sustained engagement with offering feminist support, direction, guidance and supervision to undergraduate or postgraduate students or their fellow colleagues in Psychology
- May be well known for supporting ‘non-traditional’ students. For example, in helping them navigate academia and supporting them in the successful completion of their studies.
- Foster a welcoming atmosphere and culture of inclusion
- Inspires students in their studies and/or professional development
The winning nominee will receive:
- A framed certificate from POWES
- A funded place at the POWES 2023 Annual Conference (05- 07 July 2023) to accept their award. (POWES will reimburse the full conference fee and travel to the conference up to the maximum amount of £150.)
- Additionally, the nomination statement will be published in the POWES journal The Psychology of Women and Equalities Section Review (POWER).
How to make a nomination:
- POWES members are eligible to nominate candidates for the award, however the nominee does not need to be a member of POWES or of the BPS. Nominators can be individuals or groups. (The scheme is not open to self-nominations.)
- To nominate a feminist mentor, please provide a nomination statement (maximum 1000 words in doc format) outlining how and why that person is particularly impactful on your life or those of others. We suggest you include examples of specific activities, anecdotes and personal characteristics of the mentor that have been influential in the life and career of others.
- Decisions will be made by a panel of POWES committee members and announced ahead of the POWES conference in July each year.
The deadline for applications is 30 April 2023.
Conference Bursaries and Concessions
Submissions are now closed
POWES is very keen to promote attendance of students at their annual conferences. To this end, we have set aside funds for a small number of bursaries and concessions to be awarded to students to assist with the costs of attendance.
We recognise the impact that Covid19 has had on institutional financial support for colleagues to attend conferences, and so this year we also have a limited amount of money available to support academic staff to attend the conference in cases of economic hardship and where there is an absence of institutional funding.
Guidance for applications:
- Bursaries are awarded in the form of a reduction in conference fees
- Applicants presenting at the conference will be prioritised
- The initial deadline for bursary applications is the 25th of June 2021. The set of bursary applications received by that date will be considered shortly afterwards, and applicants contacted with confirmation as to whether they have been successful.
- If the bursaries are oversubscribed, there will be a first-come, first-served policy.
- Potential applicants are welcome to enquire after the deadline about the continuing availability of bursary funding, accepting that the overall Bursary Fund may be depleted.
POWES and Feminism Postgraduate Award
Closing date: 12 April 2024
Postgraduate students who have submitted their thesis this year (2023-24) or within the last three academic years (2020-23) are invited to submit a short article for the POWES and Feminism & Psychology Postgraduate Award.
Criteria
- Submissions can include research from all areas of Psychology and the Social Sciences.
- The article must be clearly related to the research carried out as part of a postgraduate degree and must not have been published previously.
- Articles must make an original contribution to the psychology of women, gender, feminist theory, practice and beyond. For example, articles may explore issues around gender, racism, or gender and other intersecting inequalities.
- Articles can be up to a maximum of 3,500 words. Word counts do not include abstract, title, references, data extracts or tables. Abstracts can be a maximum of 200 words.
International submissions
POWES is aware of the problematic Western and English language dominance in psychology. We welcome submissions from those not based in the UK and from those who do not use English as their first language. Whilst submissions do need to be written in English, we are happy to provide proof reading support if you are a second language English speaker before you submit your paper. To gain this, please contact [email protected] by the 1st April 2024.
Review process
Every entry will be anonymously reviewed by two members of POWES with relevant knowledge and expertise. Submissions that receive a positive review from both reviewers will go to the judging panel, who will assess, comment on, and score the article based on the criteria for submissions. The panel of judges will make the final decision.
The winner receives
- A funded place at the POWES 2023 Conference (10-12 July 2024)
- The opportunity to present your paper at the Conference
- A one year subscription to Feminism & Psychology & PoWER
- Invitation to publish your paper in PoWER subject to addressing any feedback from prize reviewers
- Award certificate and £50 voucher
How to apply
Find more information on the Prizes page.
Deadline: 12 April 2024, 23:30
POWES particularly welcomes applications from the following groups of people who are often under-represented: Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people, disabled people and people who identify as LGBTQ+.
For enquiries please email [email protected].
POWES Undergraduate Student Awards
Closing date: 12 April 2024
Current undergraduate students (2023-24) and those who have submitted their dissertation within the last three academic years (2020-23) are invited to submit a short article for the POWES undergraduate awards.
There are two awards:
POWES: Undergraduate Spotlight Award on racism and race inequalities - we invite submissions for the Spotlight Award for work that centres racism and race-related inequalities.
POWES: Undergraduate Gender Inequalities Award – we invite submissions for the Gender Inequalities Award that focus on gender OR gender AND other intersecting inequalities (e.g. Black women's perinatal experiences, queer women's coming out stories).
Criteria
- Articles can be up to a maximum of 3,000 words. Word counts do not include abstract, title, references, quotes or tables.
- Abstracts can be a minimum of 200 words
- Articles must be clearly related to the research carried out as part of an undergraduate degree and make an original contribution
- Articles must be in Word doc format
- Individual entries and group submissions are both welcomed, but must not have been published previously.
- Submissions can include research from all areas of Psychology and the Social Sciences.
International submissions
POWES is aware of the problematic Western and English language dominance in psychology. We welcome submissions from those not based in the UK and from those who do not speak English as their first language. Whilst submissions do need to be written in English, we are happy to provide proof reading support if you are a second language English speaker before you submit your paper. To gain this, please contact [email protected] by the 1st April 2024.
Review process
Every entry will be anonymously reviewed by two members of POWES with relevant knowledge and expertise. Submissions that receive a positive review from both reviewers will go to the judging panel, who will assess, comment on and score the article based on the criteria for submissions. The panel of judges will make the final decision.
The winner receives
- A funded place at the POWES 2024 Conference (10-12 July 2024)
- The opportunity to present your paper at the Conference
- An award certificate and £50 voucher
- A one year subscription to PoWER
- Invitation for assisted publication of your submission in PoWER subject to standard peer-review process
How to apply
Find more information on the Prizes page.
Deadline: 12 April 2024, 23:30
POWES particularly welcomes applications from the following groups of people who are often under-represented: Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people, disabled people and people who identify as LGBTQ+.
For enquiries please email [email protected].
Previous Award Winners
POWES Student Prizes
2010: C. Rivas (Queen Mary, University of London)
2009: P. Pinto (University of Minho, Portugal)
2008: L. Lazard (University of Nottingham)
2007: C. Nguyen (London School of Economic and Political Science)
Committee
Chair: Lisa Lazard
Past Chair: Helen Malson
Chair Elect: Bipasha Ahmed
Honorary Treasurer: Alison Davies
Honorary Secretary: Charlotte Dann
Committee Members:
- Tanya Beetham
- Rose Capdevila
- Lois Donnelly
- Hannah Hale
- Hannah Interzar
- Glen Jankowski
- Abigail Locke
- Madeleine Pownall
- Joanna Semlyen
- Wendy Stainton-Rogers
Conference Consultant: Lucy Thompson
POWER Representative: Hannah Frith (Editor)
PsyPAG Representative: Lucy Eldred
POWES Consultant Team:
- Xintong Jia
- Ankita Mishra
- Taoyuan Luo
Join
- Apply to join the section (students, affiliates, e-subscribers)
- Apply to join the section (graduate, chartered, and in-training members)
Membership of the Psychology of Women and Equalities Section is only open to members of the British Psychological Society.
If you are not already a member, you can join the Section at the same time as applying for membership of the society.
Benefits of belonging
Benefits of Psychology of Women and Equalities Section Membership
- Discounted registration for the Section’s Annual Conference
- Opportunities to influence and take part in the development of the section
- Opportunity to voice your opinion, either at the Section’s AGM and/or by becoming a member of the section’s committee
- Psychology of Women and Equalities Review
- Regular updates via our membership announcement email list
Member Announcement Email List
The Psychology of Women and Equalities Section uses its membership announcement email list to inform its members of activities and initiatives that are relevant to their interests and to make requests for engagement on topical issues.
By becoming a member of the Section you are automatically added to the announcement list.
To receive these emails you will need to:
- become a member of the Psychology of Women and Equalities Section
- opt into receiving email communication and provide a working email address
These preferences can be updated by logging into your member portal.
If you have any queries, please contact Member Network Services.
To assist us in responding to your query please make sure to include your membership number and quote 'Psychology of Women and Equalities Section announcement email' in the subject line.
Getting involved with the Psychology of Women and Equalities Section Committee
The Psychology of Women and Equalities Section relies on a wide range of people getting involved, and the work of the Section is largely achieved through the dedication of unpaid volunteers.
Our volunteers come from a wide range of different backgrounds, whether they be practitioners or academics, or full members or students members, and together form an open and inclusive community.