On September 23, 2022, the APA hosted the first of three currently-planned panels on “The Status of ‘Women’ in the Committee on the Status of Women.” As many noted at this initial e...
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On September 23, 2022, the APA hosted the first of three currently-planned panels on “The Status of ‘Women’ in the Committee on the Status of Women.” As many noted at this initial event, the discussion is long overdue. As I understand it, the motivation for the discussion is to ensure that inclusive, intersectional conceptions of gender justice are prioritized in the Committee’s work, and this necessarily involves working against a white, ableist, cisheteronormative, homogeneous conception of women. One issue discussed at the event is whether this work requires changing the Committee’s name. As noted by some panel participants and attendees, a name change alone will not be sufficient for addressing the structures of power that need to be addressed. In other words, a name change would be meaningless in the absence of a sustained, demonstrated commitment to combat transphobia, racism, and heteronormativity both within the Committee’s work and in the profession overall.