Many of my clients, colleagues, and friends will know that I am not shy to point out the overt and covert ways the patriarchy influences our personal and professional lives as psychologists. While I could probably write a book on this, I will try to keep to just a few examples that have really stood out to me in recent years to share and reflect on.
Firstly, I want to acknowledge that as a white, able-bodied, cis-gendered psychologist I hold an immense amount of inherent privilege in my identity, and no doubt have benefitted from that in overt or subtle ways along my journey to becoming a psychologist. There are many within the profession and our communities who do not have the same privilege, and this is something we need to continually address and improve.
Nevertheless, the influence of the patriarchy touches us all in subtle and obvious ways from the topics we study to our career choices.
One way in which the patriarchy has influenced our work as psychologists is in the topics we do and don’t learn about thoroughly in our training. In my training, I cannot remember a single class or discussion about PMDD (Pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder) – a condition that affects women and people who menstruate. You can imagine my surprise then, when I started working full time and longer term (as opposed to short-term university placements) with women who were experiencing the symptoms. This was apparent within the first few months of working as a fully registered psychologist; it was clear a large number of women were suffering with symptoms of PMDD, and yet I learnt nothing about it during my training.
Another similar area is in women’s experiences of neurodivergence (ADHD and Autism). Once again, after only working full time in the field for a relatively short amount of time, it quickly became apparent just how many women and non-binary folk were likely neurodivergent and this was under-recognised due to the way in which ADHD and Autism have traditionally been recognised and understood, and how the ‘symptoms’ have been classified in the traditional diagnostic manuals.
A third example is in the lack of theoretical and practical training on issues that women often have to navigate as victim-survivors, such as sexual assault and domestic violence. In our formal postgraduate education these topics are hardly touched on. Instead, it appears that further education and training on these issues seems to occur if you go into a workplace or occupational setting that specifically offers services in these areas. While I understand we cannot possibly study every single thing during a Masters degree, given the prevalence of these issues within our community, I think its safe to say we need direct training on these matters much earlier on to be equipped across the board, and not just if we directly choose to work in a specialised service for these matters because any and all women (and people) can be forced to navigate these issues.
Aside from the topics we do and don’t learn about in our training, another way in which the patriarchy and implicit bias has affected me as a psychologist is in my professional pursuits and choices and this being balanced with my personal life.
When I spoke to colleagues and friends about opening my own practice in order to work closer to home and to start to carve out my career path in a way that was aligned to me, I received some subtle (and some not to subtle) messages about if that was wise as someone who was also considering starting a family in the future. While I understand that juggling private practice work and starting a family would have its challenges, instead of being met with support of ‘Yes, and how can we make that happen?!’ I was told (word for word) that it was “a bad idea”. Disappointingly, this came from someone who I thought knew me, my work ethic, and my values well.
I also received a comment from a well-meaning friend who questioned if it was a wise decision to enter the domain of juggling private practice and while possibly starting a family. This friend, however, was encouraging of my partner pursuing his career interests and a possible side hustle - while considering starting a family. During the conversation I felt a bit deflated. It wasn’t until later that I realised that their comments (made at two different points in the conversation) in my view reflected the subtle influence of the expectations of women and what women could and could not do, and how different the expectations are for men.
Luckily, I had some amazingly supportive and uplifting conversations with friends and colleagues who supported me every step of the way. In fact, a mentor within the profession told me that with the right support it absolutely was possible to juggle private practice and becoming a parent, and in fact that there were many positive aspects in doing so (e.g., flexibility in choosing my work schedule). The right support stood out to me – I knew then and there I had to stop listening to the nay-sayers and start listening to those who believed that women can pursue both their career and having a family, and that we are allowed to do it on our own terms and our own timeline.
Finally, I’ve felt the implicit bias from others outside of the profession in pursuing my career. I once spoke to a mortgage broker about eligibility for a home loan, where he asked me about income from “my little side thing” – that is – my work as a contractor in a private practice. My most dearly held work that I had spent eight years of my life working towards, and he called it “my little side thing”.
Likewise, real estate agents didn’t call me back when I asked to inspect commercial properties or they tried to bully me into accepting dodgy contracts thinking I wouldn’t have done my homework or known any better. They also told me to bring along my male partner (an assumption on their part) who could inspect the condition of the property and advise me on any renovations needed. Geez. I can hardly believe the words as I’m typing them! And yet these interactions did occur. Thankfully, I have had some amazing interactions with supportive professionals to counteract this. I am grateful for the people who haven’t devalued or underestimated me simply because I am a woman in business.
While there are more examples I could give I think I’ve said enough. The patriarchy influences us all in overt and covert ways, and it is not just women it actively harms. Becoming aware of the impact of this means I can actively choose to work towards better outcomes, for example for women with ADHD. Next on my list to upskill in is supporting women and people who experience symptoms of PMDD. Stay tuned!