Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

Behavior Therapy 43 (2012) 698 – 700

www.elsevier.com/locate/bt

SPECIAL SERIES

Overcoming the Glass Ceiling Guest Editors: Michelle G. Newman and Lata K. McGinn

Lessons Learned in Looking Back: Perspectives From Trailblazers Lata K. McGinn Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology Yeshiva University Albert Einstein College of Medicine Michelle G. Newman The Pennsylvania State University

Although this is in many ways a good era for women, many things have yet to improve. Women continue to lag behind men with regard to salaries, are under-represented in position of leadership, and still take on greater responsibility for child rearing and family responsibilities. Careers dominated by women tend to be associated with lower salaries and lower prominence and by the same token, women tend to dominate leadership positions when the field becomes less prestigious. Although women now outnumber men in graduating classes, the feminization of clinical psychology brings new challenges. This special series comes out of the 2009 trailblazer panel held at the ABCT convention in New York City, which explored the experiences faced by pioneering women in behavior therapy and discussed ways to help women overcome the glass ceiling. This introductory paper summarizes the lessons learned by these trailblazers with a view toward helping women in academia today.

Address correspondence to Lata K. McGinn, Ph.D., Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Rousso Building, 126, Bronx, NY 10461; e-mail: [email protected]. 0005-7894/43/698-700/$1.00/0 © 2012 Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

THIS IS IN MANY ways a good era for women. Eight women won the Nobel Prize between 2009 and 2011 in the fields of chemistry, physiology/medicine, literature, and economics (Nobelprize.org). A recent poll indicates that women now comprise approximately half the workforce and that slightly over half of college students are now female (Institute for Women's Policy Research, 2012; United States Census Bureau, 2012). However, many things have yet to improve. Although salaries for women have increased substantially over the last 20 years, women still lag behind men. In 2010, women earned 77 cents for every $1 men earned (DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, & Smith, 2011). Women are still underrepresented in positions of leadership and, in comparison to men, still take on greater responsibility for child rearing and family responsibilities. Although more women are entering the workforce, careers dominated by women tend to be associated with lower salaries and lower prestige (Rich, 2012; United States Government Accountability Office, 2011), and by the same token, women tend to dominate leadership positions when the field becomes less prestigious (Willyard, 2011). Diane Sawyer and Katie Couric became anchors at a time when networks

lessons learned in looking back began losing their dominance and network news, in particular, began to decline in prominence. Alessandra Stanley of the New York Times (2009) writes that in most fields, "women tend to break through the glass ceiling just as the air-conditioning is being turned off in the penthouse office suites." The landscape is similar in our field. In psychology, women with a doctorate earn 80 cents for every $1 that men make for similar positions (Wicherski, Mulvey, Hart, & Kohout, 2011). Although threequarters of graduates from clinical psychology programs are now female, only 40% of full-time psychology faculty members are women. Women in academia earn 76% of what their male counterparts earn and a mere 30% of female faculty are tenured, compared with 52% of males (National Science Foundation, 2009; Wicherski et al., 2011). Although the number of women in leadership positions has increased over the years, women continue to be underrepresented in leadership positions. And finally, although women now outnumber men in graduating classes, the feminization of clinical psychology brings with it new challenges (Carey, 2011). How does psychology prevent the air-conditioning from being turned off in the penthouse? The inspiration for this series comes from a conversation we had several years ago at a professional meeting. What began as an exchange about our professional experiences soon shifted to a discussion of our experiences as women professionals. We reflected on our early experiences as graduate students and as early professionals and soon realized that our experiences had several common themes. We wondered if our experiences reflected those of other women professionals today, and how they may differ from the narratives of women who entered the field at a time when women were fewer in number. We soon felt mobilized to create a vehicle for people to hear about these experiences and also to think of ways that we could help make a difference for women going forward. That led us to form a keynote panel at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies convention held in New York City in 2009. Drs. Dianne Chambless, Edna Foa, Rosemery NelsonGray, Robin Jarrett, Marsha Linehan, Barbara McCrady, Patricia Resick, Susan Mineka, and Antonette Zeiss were invited to be part of this historic panel, although Drs. Mineka and Zeiss had unexpected commitments that came up at the last minute and could not attend. The trailblazer panel, as it has now come to be affectionately termed, was truly a historic occasion. Over a thousand men and women turned out and several were turned away. The panel discussion centered on the culture and challenges these women faced as students and as early career professionals,

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along with any sacrifices they may have made in order to pursue their careers. The panelists were asked to recount how they balanced their personal lives and careers, how they coped with the adversities that arose, and to offer any advice for women entering the field today. The panel ended with a spontaneous moment of solidarity as the women joined their raised hands and stood before a cheering audience that was up on its feet. Even today, people express to us how the panel touched a chord in them and hope that similar panels are organized in the future to help younger professionals in the field. It became evident in the stories narrated that isolation and discrimination were central to the experiences of most of the panelists. Although they recalled fond memories of these early days as well, the memories of facing a limited quota, being accused of taking away spots earmarked for men, being called disruptive and emotional, being sexually harassed, being left out of most opportunities, being discounted, and more, were etched into their minds. The excitement of being pioneers in an emerging field was seen as a key factor in buffering some of these experiences and many spoke about the sheer headiness of feeling like they were vanguards of a new field. With the rising feminist consciousness there also arose support and advocacy groups within and across universities and on a national level that played a key role in helping women overcome the unique challenges they faced. Some in the panel went on to form the Women's Special Interest Group (SIG) to ensure that future generations of women weren't left out. The Women's SIG focused on helping women enter academia, get and maintain jobs in general, obtain leadership positions, fight discrimination at the hands of men and women, and advocate for women's rights. As one of the panelists recounted before a hushed audience, “There was a sense of solidarity in the air that eventually helped us believe that we would be able to make it.” As they closed, the panelists spoke about the need for continued advocacy of women's rights. As one of the panelists said, “Things were so bad for us that we got together to survive and change things. Although we have come a long way, many things still need to be changed such as better family leave, more day care on campus, tenure accommodations for women and more. What is missing today is the energy for change and the lack of solidarity among women in pressing for action against the continued many things we still need to change.” It is our hope that the following special series rekindles the sense of solidarity and energy needed to bring about further social change for women today. This special series comes out of the 2009 Trailblazer

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panel and represents the written thoughts and reflections of the panelists who agreed once again to revisit the time in their lives when they faced hardships just for being women. In each of the articles that follow, these women serve as role models for courage, persistence, and action toward the future. In addition, the panelists open up about their triumphs, difficulties, obstacles, and how they were able to traverse them, ultimately showing that they were able to triumph. Our concluding paper integrates the lessons learned by the trailblazers so that future generations of women may benefit from the wisdom of these remarkable women who paved the way for the rest of us. We owe them a debt of gratitude. References Carey, B. (2011, May 21). Need therapy? A good man is hard to find. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes. com/2011/05/22/health/22therapists.html DeNavas-Walt, C., Proctor, B. D., & Smith, J. C. (2011). United States Census Bureau: Income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the united states: 2010 [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/p60-239.pdf Institute for Women's Policy Research. (2012, February). Improved job growth in January for both women and men: Women re-entering the labor force, but men leaving. Retrieved from http://www.iwpr.org/publications/pubs/ improved-job-growth-in-january-for-both-women-andmen-women-re-entering-the-labor-force-but-men-leaving National Science Foundation. (2009). S&E doctoral degrees awarded to women, by field: 2001–09. Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering [Data file] Retrieved from http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/ wmpd/pdf/tab7-2.pdf Nobelprize.org. (n.d). Nobel prize awarded women. Retrieved from http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/lists/women.html Rich, M. (2012, February 9). Gender gap on wages is slow to close. New York Times. Retrieved from http://economix. blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/gender-gap-on-wages-isslow-to-close/ Stanley, A. (2009, September 5). The rise of the female anchor. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/ 2009/09/06/weekinreview/06stanley.html United States Census Bureau. (2012). Higher education— institutions and enrollment [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/ 12s0278.pdf United States Government Accountability Office. (2011). Gender pay differences: Progress made, but women remain overrepresented among low-wage workers. Retrieved from http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/business/GAO12-10.pdf

Wicherski, M., Mulvey, T., Hart, B., & Kohout, J. (2011). APA Center for Workforce Studies: 2010–2011 faculty salaries in graduate departments of psychology [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/workforce/publications/11-fac-sal/ report.pdf Willyard, C. (2011, January). Men: A growing minority? gradPSYCH Magazine: A publication of the American Psychological Association. Retrieved from http://www.apa. org/gradpsych/2011/01/cover-men.aspx

R E C E I V E D : February 25, 2012 A C C E P T E D : February 27, 2012 Available online 7 March 2012 Lata K. McGinn, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Psychology, Director of the Doctoral Clinical Program, and Director of the University-based Cognitive Behavior Therapy Program for Anxiety and Depressive Disorders at the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University, Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Her research focuses on the vulnerability and prevention of anxiety and depression and she has authored numerous articles and chapters including two books, Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Treatment Plans and Interventions for Anxiety and Depression. Dr. McGinn is President of the International Association of Cognitive Psychotherapy and is also on the Board of Directors of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. She is a founding fellow and diplomate of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy and is a Beck Institute Scholar. She is also Associate Editor of Cognitive Therapy and Research, on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, and currently serves on Division 12, APA's Task Force on Evidence-Based Training. Michelle G. Newman, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, and the Director of the Center for the Treatment of Anxiety and Depression at the Pennsylvania State University. She received her Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1992 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University in 1994. Dr. Newman has conducted numerous psychotherapy outcome studies for generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, and panic disorder and has published a body of empirical articles on the nature and treatment of anxiety disorders. She is currently an Associate Editor and the Editor-Elect for Behavior Therapy and serves on the editorial boards of Cognitive Therapy and Research, Psychotherapy Research, and Cognitive and Behavioral Practice. She is also a fellow of Division's 12 and 29 of the American Psychological Association, a Beck Institute Scholar, and the recipient of the APA Division 12 Turner Award for distinguished contribution to clinical research, and the APA Award for Society of Psychotherapy (Division 29): Distinguished Publication of Psychotherapy Research Award.