Szymanski Nurtures Collaborative Success as Editor for Psychology of Women Quarterly
Department of Psychology Professor Dawn Szymanski’s decades of research on multicultural feminist issues in relation to psychological health made her an excellent choice to be editor of Psychology of Women Quarterly (PWQ), a top journal of women’s studies, a role she took on in 2020 and concludes in 2024.
The feminist, scientific, peer-reviewed journal specializes in empirical research, critical reviews, and theoretical articles that advance the field of psychology of women and gender. Szymanski’s top priority as editor was to preserve the integrity and high quality of studies published in the journal.
“PWQ has earned a reputation for scholarly excellence and for publishing studies that are novel, cutting edge, rigorous, and sophisticated, for making important contributions to the existing literature, and addressing major social issues,” said Szymanski. “I focused on promoting visibility, diversity, timely and educative reviews, feminist mentoring, appreciating all those who contribute to PWQ, and recognizing excellence.”
Her approach worked to maintain and even strengthen PWQ’s position as the leading venue for feminist psychological science, and was much appreciated by colleagues.
“Authors reported incredible feedback from Szymanski and her team that enhanced their scholarship through rigorous peer review and editorial collaboration, which is a hallmark of a strong editorial process,” said Patrick Grzanka, professor of psychology and divisional dean of social sciences, College of Arts and Sciences. “Szymanski also gave substantial space in the journal toward special issues on emerging and pertinent topics across the field, including open science and reproductive justice.”
“We published two special Issues, one on Feminist Psychology and Open Science: Challenges and Opportunities (December, 2021) and the other on Reproductive Justice: Advancing Science, Advocacy, and Practice (December, 2023),” said Szymanski. “We continued to lift the voices of those who are underrepresented in our literature by publishing several articles on the experiences of multiply minoritized women—e.g., African American women, Latine and Black sexual minority, gender expansive women, and South Asian women.”
She also collaborated with the American Psychological Association Division 35 leadership to establish a yearly Excellence in Peer Review Award that recognizes the time-consuming, labor intensive, and often under-appreciated service commitment of providing quality peer reviews.
This multifaceted work strengthened not only the PWQ brand, but shone a light on the high quality of UT scholarship in psychology.
“Szymanski’s stewardship of PWQ here at UT deepened recognition across the discipline of psychology that we are a leading institution for critical feminist research,” said Grzanka. “This is a tremendous accomplishment for her as a scholar and a source of pride for our college and university.”
Szymanski credits her editorship experience with enhancing her insight for research, writing, leadership, mentoring, managing a large team, and the editorial and production process.
“It is exciting to work with, and learn from, the best and brightest researchers in feminist psychology and to help shape the future of feminist psychological science,” she said. “It has influenced how I carry out the variety of roles I play as a professor.”
As she hands off the leadership of PWQ, Szymanski welcomes the ability to spend more time in those roles, including conducting her own research and guiding the investigations of her doctoral students. Their projects seek to improve psychological well-being for women and other minoritized groups working through a spectrum of difficult situations.
“Some of our recent, in the works, and future research efforts include examining experiences of sexual objectification in one’s family of origin, the relation between involvement in LGBTQ activism and positive psychological functioning, the sexual well-being of sexual assault survivors, and experiences of minoritized graduate student researchers and therapists,” she said.
Szymanski’s successful tenure for PWQ and her continued championing of these voices impacts the psychological health of Volunteers at home and around the world.