All APA Divisions that recommended the formation of the Differences of Sex Development (DSD) Task Force to the Council of Representatives were invited to appoint representatives to the nominations committee, which included Divisions 7 (Developmental Psychology), 16 (School Psychology), 37 (Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice), 38 (Society for Health Psychology), 43 (Society for Couple and Family Psychology), 44 (Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity), 53 (Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology) and 54 (Society of Pediatric Psychology). This resulted in a selection committee comprised of one member each from Divisions 16, 37, 43, 44 and two from Div. 54.
The nominations committee was asked to recommend a task force comprised of 6-8 members representing expertise in clinical care, research, and ethical issues pertaining to DSD populations across the lifespan, and to include at least two representatives from intersex or DSD patient communities, including parents. Membership in APA was not a requirement because it was recognized this task force would require a range of expertise and perspectives beyond the field of psychology.
As with nominations processes for other APA volunteer working groups, the call for nominations resulted in an impressive pool of highly qualified nominees (21), any of whom might arguably have become a suitable member to serve on the task force. It is always a difficult job for nomination committees to weigh the unique areas of expertise and experience each nominee possesses and propose a well-balanced and diverse group to be appointed by the board of directors. The job was especially challenging in this instance, given the scope and complexity of issues and interests involved.
Per their charge, the nominations committee initially selected eight individuals to be on the DSD Task Force and requested the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in Public Interest (BAPPI) approve them to be appointed by the board of directors. An area of diversity that the nominations committee recognized as inadequate, and discussed at the time, was racial and ethnic diversity. BAPPI responded with a request that the nominations committee take additional time to re-issue the Call for Nominations to try to address this. Subsequently the call was sent directly to Div. 45 (Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race) and to the leadership of the Ethnic Minority Psychological Associations for circulation among their members. This resulted in two additional nominees. Drawing from the original pool of 21 and the two additional nominees, the nominations committee decided to retain the original eight proposed members and add two more, bringing the total number to 10. BAPPI approved this approach and all 10 nominees were appointed by the board of directors.
As with all materials produced by APA task forces, a draft of the initial report by the DSD Task Force will be put forward for a 60-day public comment period. All APA boards and committees and other interested parties will have an opportunity to make comments and suggest edits, which the task force will address in the course of producing a final draft to be submitted to be received by the APA Council of Representatives. This is a process that can typically take a couple of years to complete.