The Future Is Female (and Behavior Analysis): A Behavioral Account of Sexism and How Behavior Analysis Is Simultaneously Part of the Problem and Solution.

Abstract

In 2015, females accounted for 82.2% of Board Certified Behavior Analysts (Nosik & Grow, 2015, "Prominent Women in Behavior Analysis: An Introduction," The Behavior Analyst, 38, 225-227). Females represent most certificants, yet their presence in research and on editorial boards for peer-reviewed journals is lower than males' presence (Li, Curiel, Pritchard, & Poling, 2018, "Participation of Women in Behavior Analysis Research: Some Recent and Relevant Data," Behavior Analysis in Practice, 11, 160-164). Various contingencies are certainly involved, which may include instances of sexism or gender-based discrimination. Despite behavior analysis having the means to change contingencies that reinforce sexism, the discipline is not adequately taking cultural contingencies into consideration. As a result, behavior analysis is simultaneously part of the problem and the potential solution. Moreover, behavior analysis has not adequately studied sexism and its subtle topographies despite sexism being a long-existing behavioral phenomenon. The purpose of the current paper is to provide a behavioral account of sexism, particularly in the field of behavior analysis. Feminism as a culture and views of feminism from males and females will be further examined, as well as their implications for behavior change. Finally, recommendations for cultural and individual change will be discussed to promote gender equity.