In 1975, she started the women's studies program as an academic minor, and grew it into a full department with accredited undergraduate and master's degrees.

She successfully fought an attempt to remove the program launched by the Arizona State Legislature because lesbian history and achievements were included in the curriculum.

[8][9] Dinnerstein recalled that it was difficult to prove that the field was legitimate and in the beginning the entire program consisted of herself and a secretary,[9] and was only offered as an academic minor.

[17] In 1999, the Arizona State Legislature unsuccessfully attempted to dismantle the program after a parent complained that lesbians were included in a literary course.

[18] The couple retired in May 2003,[19] but Dinnerstein continue to work with the university, serving on the Millennium Project Oversight Committee.

[21] The work of Dinnerstein and colleagues, according to scholar Elizabeth J. Sacca was important in challenging "academic disciplines to revise their notions of research and recognition to include women as fully as men" and evaluating the issues encountered while they pressed for change.

[22] Dinnerstein's other research interests included work done on aging and menopause and the changes in perception of older women over time.