Historically, men have dominated the field of behavior analysis; however, recent trends have indicated increased participation by women. As a result of these recent changes to the field of behavior analysis, the inaugural Women in Behavior Analysis Conference (WIBA) was hosted in 2017. WIBA was initially established to highlight the accomplishments of women in the field of behavior analysis, to provide opportunities for early career behavior analysts to obtain mentorship, and to encourage meaningful discourse about gender issues in the field. Since the inaugural conference, WIBA has attempted to establish a platform for promoting gender equality but most recently has incorporated efforts related to the needs surrounding social justice and inclusiveness in the field of behavior analysis. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of the WIBA conference. The history of WIBA is discussed, including the impetus for establishing the conference. This paper highlights existing issues on gender equality in the field of behavior analysis and the larger community, serves to demonstrate how WIBA is part of the solution, and shares accomplishments to date. Furthermore, future directions and goals are presented.
Keywords: Advocacy; Gender; Social justice; Women.
© Association for Behavior Analysis International 2019.