Women's leadership in neuropsychology: historical perspectives, present trends, and future directions

Although psychology has become a female-dominated field, this pattern of gender representation has not held true within the specialty of neuropsychology. In recent years more women have been pursuing careers in neuropsychology, and while the balance of male and female neuropsychologists as a whole has shifted, it is unclear whether the gender composition of leadership has also changed. Our goal was to survey various neuropsychological organizations, training programs, editorial boards, and organizations granting board certification to determine the current gender composition of leadership positions within neuropsychology.

A literature review was conducted to examine past trends of gender composition in neuropsychology, psychology, medicine, and academia. Data on current gender compositions of the field were culled from publicly available websites and through personal communication with representatives from major psychological and neuropsychological organizations.

We found that the overall composition of the field has changed over time, but notable gender disparities in leadership positions remain. Women still comprise the minority of leadership positions within most neuropsychological organizations, editorial boards for neuropsychology journals, and fellow positions in major neuropsychological organizations. More equitable representation has been achieved in the directorships of training programs and ABPP/ABCN board certification.

We review the historical trends in gender discrepancies in leadership in neuropsychology and discuss these within the broader arenas of academia, research, and medicine. We conclude with a summary addressing potential causes for these discrepancies, including work-life balance issues, discrimination, institutional bias, and various other factors. We also provide pragmatic suggestions to help address these continued disparities.