The Climate for Women in Philosophy - The Philosophy Exception

Periodical Title	APA Newsletter on Feminism and Philosophy
Author(s)	Margaret Urban Walker; Peggy Desautels; Linda Martín Alcoff; Michelle Saint; Rae Langton
Editor(s)	Christina M. Bellon; Margaret Urban Walker
Abstract	This newsletter examines the climate for women in philosophy through four panel presentations from the 2010 Eastern APA meeting. The contributors analyze persistent barriers to women’s advancement in the profession, including implicit bias, lack of critical mass, and institutional obstacles. Drawing on research from STEM fields and philosophical practice, the authors demonstrate how women philosophers face both overt discrimination and subtle bias when their representation falls below 25% in departments. The articles explore various strategies for improvement, including data collection, best practices workshops, alternative ranking systems, and the role of philosophical blogosphere in raising awareness. Despite some progress since the 1970s, women remain significantly underrepresented, comprising only 21-23% of philosophy faculty and facing an inverse relationship between gender and seniority. The collection argues for systemic institutional change rather than individual solutions to address philosophy’s persistent gender inequity. This content was generated by artificial intelligence using the text of the original work.
Thematic Cluster/Special Issue	The Climate for Women in Philosophy
Pages	3-19
Volume	11
Issue	1
Keywords	women in philosophy, gender equity, implicit bias, critical mass, professional climate, feminist philosophy, academic discrimination, philosophy departments, institutional change, philosophical profession This content was generated by artificial intelligence using the text of the original work.
Date Published	Fall 2011
ISBN/ISSN	2155-9708
URL	https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.apaonline.org/resource/collection/D03EBDAB-82D7-4B28-B897-C050FDC1ACB4/v11n1_Feminism.pdf
Open Access?	Yes