Carol Gilligan honored for groundbreaking achievement in interdisciplinary feminist thought

Carol Gilligan, University Professor at New York University School of Law, has been awarded the 2025 Kyoto Prize for her pioneering work at the intersection of psychology, philosophy, feminist thought, and the law. The prize is awarded each year by Japan’s Inamori Foundation to three individuals who have made significant contributions to the fields of science, technology, the arts, and philosophy.

Gilligan is a noted figure of feminist philosophy, particularly for her work on the ethics of care and the reinterpretation of psychological theories with a unique emphasis on the perspectives and lives of women and girls. She is also a prolific author who has written, co-authored, or edited ten books and a play. Her writing includes her landmark 1982 title In A Different Voice (Harvard University Press) and, most recently, In a Human Voice (Polity Press, 2023). She joined NYU Law in 2002, co-teaching a seminar with David A.J. Richards, Edwin D. Webb Professor of Law, that explores the roots of ethical resistance to injustice as a matter of constitutional law and human psychology. She has co-authored two works with Richards: The Deepening Darkness: Patriarchy, Resistance, and Democracy’s Future (Cambridge University Press, 2009) and Darkness Now Visible: Patriarchy’s Resurgence and Feminist Resistance (Cambridge University Press, 2018).

“I have taught a seminar, now called Resisting Injustice, with Carol Gilligan for some 20-plus years, since she came to NYU from Harvard,” says Richards. “She has been an extraordinary teacher to the many law students who have taken our seminar and the other courses she has given here, and is a brilliantly insightful developmental psychologist who has transformed our understanding of the human sciences, in particular, the role the initiation into patriarchy plays in the lives of both women and men, and the imperative human need for resistance to patriarchy in the struggle for justice under law. Working with her has been and continues to be for me revelatory.”

The Kyoto Prize, which was founded by former Japan Airlines chairman Kazuo Inamori in 1985, is a Japanese award that recognizes three individuals globally each year for significant contributions in fields of work related to science, technology, the arts, and philosophy. Laureates receive 100,000,000 yen, or $679,000, based on current exchange rates. Previous winners in the category of the arts and philosophy include artist Roy Lichtenstein, director Akira Kurosawa, and designer Issey Miyake.

Gilligan has been previously awarded a Heinz Award for her contributions to understanding the human condition, a Grawemeyer Award for her contributions to education, and a Senior Research Scholar Award from the Spencer Foundation. In 1996, she was named by Time Magazine as one of the 25 most influential Americans.

Gilligan will receive her award on November 10 at a ceremony in Kyoto, Japan.