Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and sport and exercise psychology (SEP): looking back and looking forward

Abstract

As part of the 20th anniversary of the International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology series I offer my views on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in sport and exercise psychology (SEP). More specifically, I’ll look back at DEI in SEP going back to the beginning of the International Society for Sport Psychology (ISSP) in 1965. The early roots of SEP (prior to the 1960s) were dominated by white/European men. A few women were active in physical education programmes and in sport, but not in leadership. In North America and Europe racial and ethnic minorities were nearly invisible. Women began to gain a place in SEP in the later 1900s, and have greater representation today, although not at the levels of their male counterparts, and not everywhere. Racial and ethnic minorities have not made such gains, and although SEP has experienced significant growth in Asia, other regions, particularly Africa and South America, have little representation. Many SEP organisations and programmes have recently taken steps to increase representation – and those steps are important. Representation, or diversity (D) is critical, but further action steps are needed if SEP programmes and professional practice are to be truly inclusive (I).

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