“We Stand up for Each Other!” An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Collective Action among U.S. College Women

In 2018, more women than ever have run for and been elected to public office in the United States. Moreover, there has been an increase in women’s collective actions aimed at improving the welfare of women. In this social and political context, we examined the motivational mechanisms of collective action among college women in response to gender inequality and discrimination. Little work has addressed how collective action among college women emerges in the context of their lives. Based on data from 20 interviews with U.S. college women and using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), we developed a model that describes the process of mobilizing and maintaining engagement in collective action among college women and identifies the obstacles that they experience. Our findings extend prior research documenting the important roles of college women’s personal, social, and cultural life experiences in self-identification and collective action and describe additional obstacles and mechanisms of collective action. Researchers and activists alike could use the developed model to design strategies for mobilizing and sustaining activism among college women on behalf of all women.