The SWS Nominations Committee is responsible for building a strong and diverse pool of candidates for all elected positions: committee memberships, committee chairs, and officers. The committee also builds a pool of candidates for the annual SWS elections every October. It is chaired by the Past President of SWS.

1. The candidate must be an SWS member in good standing.
2. The candidate is required to commit to participating in the Winter Meetings for the tenure of their term of office. Summer Meeting attendance is expected as well.

Benefits of service:

1. Being able to help shape the present and future of SWS.
2. The chance to make new friends.
3. Committee Chairs and Council Members are eligible for up to $750.00 toward reimbursed travel expenses at Winter and Summer Meetings.

Positions

The following positions are elected in Odd Years:

1. President-Elect (3-year term; serves as President-Elect, President, Past President)
2. Secretary (2-year term)
3. Treasurer-Elect (3-year term-Serves as Treasurer-Elect, Treasurer, Past Treasurer)
4. Parliamentarian (2-year term)
5. Awards Chair (2-year term)
6. Career Development Committee Co-Chair (2-year term)
7. Social Action Committee Co-Chair (2-year term)
8. International Chair (2-year term)
9. Committee on Discrimination Co-Chair (1 elected each year for 2-year term)
10. Committee on Academic Justice Co-Chair (1 elected each year for 2-year term)
11. Sister to Sister Co-Chair (1 elected each year for 2-year term)
12. Awards Committee member (2 members elected in odd years for 2-year term)
13. Membership Committee Member (2 members for 2-year term)
14. Nominations Committee Member (2 members for 2-year term)
15. Publications Committee Member (2 members for 3-year term)
16. Student Representative-Elect (1 member for 2-year term)

The following positions are elected in Even Years:

1. President-Elect (3-year term; serves as President-Elect, President, Past President)
2. Vice President (2-year term; serves as Chair of Membership Committee)
3. Treasurer-Elect (3-year term-Serves as Treasurer-Elect, Treasurer, Past Treasurer)
4. Career Development Committee Co-Chair (2-year term)
5. Social Action Committee Co-Chair (2-year term)
6. Committee on Discrimination Co-Chair (1 elected each year for 2-year term)
7. Committee on Academic Justice Co-Chair (1 elected each year for 2-year term)
8. Sister to Sister Committee Co-Chair (1 elected each year for 2-year term)
9. Awards Committee member (1 member elected each even year for 2-year term)
10. Membership Committee Member (2 members for 2-year term)
11. Nominations Committee Member (2 members for 2-year term)
12. Publications Committee Member (2 members for 3-year term)
13. Student Representative-Elect (1 member for 2-year term)

Note: The Student Caucus elects one Student Caucus Representative each year. It is a separate election.

Position Descriptions and Committee Descriptions for Committees that Elect Chairs or Members

President

The President serves one year as President and is the public face of the organization. The President is charged with leading the organization by working with the Executive Officer and all SWS officers and chairs and to assure that SWS functions in a legally correct, timely, and feminist manner. The President (with advice and/or consent from others, as specified) hires the Executive Officer (EO), supervises the EO, evaluates the EO, and (if need-be) terminates the EO. The President works with the EO to direct, encourage, and inspire committee chairs (task force chairs, etc.) and members to perform the obligations of their office. The President appoints ad hoc committees and task forces, when a majority of Council members affirm their utility and charge. Letters of appointment and review results of the EO as well as notices about probation or termination come from the President with concurrence of the Treasurer. The Treasurer is involved in major appointments because salary and other financial/contractual agreements are at stake.) The President signs contracts for SWS including with the publisher of Gender & Society and with other entities to which SWS commits financial resources. The Executive Officer also signs. The President serves in year one as President-Elect and becomes Past President at first the Business Meeting of SWS’s 3-day Winter Meeting. The President chairs Council and serves on the Operating Budget Management Committee. In the event the President cannot discharge the required duties (e.g., due to illness, a conflict of interest, etc.), the President-Elect will perform the duties of President until the situation is resolved.

President-Elect

The President-Elect assumes office as President-Elect and becomes an official member of Council at the first Business Meeting of the 3-day Winter meeting. The primary duty of the President-Elect is to plan the Winter meeting for the following year (usually held in early February). The President-Elect decides on the themes and content of the Winter Meeting program. The President-Elect serves on Council and cooperates with the President, EO, and other SWS officers and committee chairs to make policies and decisions in the best interest of the organization. The President- elect participates in the annual site visit to the Executive Office, as part of her responsibilities for learning the job of President.   The President-Elect becomes President during the first business meeting on Friday morning of the 3-day Winter meeting after having served one year as President-Elect.

Past President

The Past President assumes office at the first Business Meeting of the 3-day Winter meeting after having served for two years as President-Elect and President. The primary duties are to serve on Council for a third year, chair the Nominations Committee for the upcoming election, and chair the Personnel Committee. Procedures for the Past President to follow regarding the nominations process are noted below. The Past President vacates the position during the first Business Meeting of the 3-day Winter Meeting after having served for three years. The Past President and the Executive Officer jointly conduct the Newly Elected Officer Orientation at the Winter Meeting.

Vice President 

The Vice President (VP) serves a two-year term and assumes office as Vice President during the first Business Meeting of the 3-day Winter Meeting, soon after being elected VP. The VP vacates the office at the end of two years, on Friday morning of the 3-day Winter Meeting. The VP serves on Council and has three other major duties—chair the SWS Membership Committee, chair the Committee on National and Local Collaborations, and surveys nominees for ASA office in the Spring each year. The results of that survey are made available to the SWS membership before the ASA voting occurs. The VP works with the EO and different committees and chapters to expand and facilitate an engaged group of members.

Treasurer

The Treasurer in collaboration with the Executive Officer and Operating Budget Management Committee prepares the SWS budget. The Treasurer oversees long and short-term investments and provides financial oversight to the Executive Officer and bookkeeping team. The Treasurer works with the Executive Officer to assure that income and expenses are properly recorded and reconciled. The Treasurer serves as Chair of the Operating Budget Management Committee, member of the Personnel Subcommittee, and as a non-voting member of the Publications Committee. The Treasurer meets on-site annually with the President, President-Elect, Treasurer-Elect, and Executive Officer to assure that correct procedures are observed in the Executive Office. The Treasurer submits a written report of SWS finances at the Winter and Summer Meetings and submits an outline of said finances to Network News; the detailed report is then sent to the Executive Officer to be posted to the SWS website. The Treasurer sets the agenda for, presides at, and prepares a report of the Executive Office Site Visit and shares the report with members of the Operating Budget Management Committee and Council. The Treasurer has signatory power on the SWS bank account (although the Treasurer does not exercise that power routinely). The Treasurer receives a quarterly copy of compilation that shows all income and expenses. The Treasurer also is invited to quarterly calls with the accounting/bookkeeping team and the Executive Officer to discuss financial performance. The Treasurer has viewer access to the SWS bank account statements to monitor transactions. The Executive Officer will order a credit card in the Treasurer’s name and will give it to the Treasurer when the Treasurer assumes office. The credit card is to be used by the Treasurer in the event that the Executive Officer is unable to process a payment on behalf of SWS. The Treasurer works in tandem with the President to appoint the SWS Executive Officer (see Appendix B). The Treasurer assumes office at the first Business Meeting of the 3-day Winter Meeting the year after having served a year as Treasurer-Elect. The Treasurer becomes Past Treasurer at the first Business Meeting of the following year’s 3-day Winter Meeting. If the Treasurer must step aside for unavoidable reasons, the Past Treasurer will assume that position until the situation is resolved. Should the office of Treasurer become vacant, it shall be filled by the Treasurer-Elect automatically, to serve for the unexpired term in addition to the full term she would have otherwise served.

Treasurer-Elect

The Treasurer-Elect assumes office for one year on Friday morning of the 3-day Winter Meeting. During that year, the Treasurer-Elect serves on Council and works closely with the Treasurer to learn the job and prepare for the duties of SWS Treasurer. The Treasurer-Elect serves as a non-voting member of the Operating Budget Management Committee for that year. The Treasurer-Elect is also a member of the Personnel Subcommittee. The Treasurer-Elect becomes familiar with the quarterly compilations and the financial goals and procedures for overseeing SWS’ finances. The Treasurer-Elect becomes Treasurer at the first Business Meeting of the 3-day Winter Meeting. At the discretion of the Treasurer and President, the Treasurer-Elect may be asked to perform additional duties related to SWS financial affairs. The Treasurer-Elect shadows the Treasurer and is copied on relevant correspondence (between the Executive Officer and Treasurer, for example) in anticipation of taking on the responsibilities of Treasurer in the coming year.

Past Treasurer

The Past Treasurer serves for one year on Council and on the Operating Budget Management Committee.  The Past Treasurer also serves on the Investment Committee. Prior to the Business Meeting at both the Summer and Winter meetings, the Past Treasurer reports to Treasurer about investments. At the discretion of the Treasurer and President, the Past Treasurer may be asked to perform various duties related to SWS financial affairs, for example, in relationship to helping the Treasurer prepare the budget. Unless specifically requested, the Past Treasurer does not attend the annual Executive Office Site Visit.

Secretary

The Secretary of SWS serves a two-year term which entails service on Council. The Secretary discharges many record-keeping and reporting duties for SWS. The duties of Secretary are to record, report, and distribute minutes of Council meetings and any other deliberations of Council (e.g., conference calls) for review, amendment and approval. The Secretary records and reports minutes and actions of the SWS Business Meetings at the Winter and Summer Meetings, for the membership. The Secretary provides an outline of minutes to the Network NewsEditor to be printed, and the detailed minutes to the Executive Officer to be placed on the SWS website. The Secretary works with the President and Executive Office to draft agendas for the Winter and Summer Meetings and performs other duties as requested by the President.

Parliamentarian

The responsibility of the Parliamentarian is to ensure Council and the business meetings are adhering to Bylaws and advising Council when the Bylaws require revision. The Parliamentarian serves for two years and is elected in odd-numbered years. The Parliamentarian is a non-voting member of Council.

Nominations Committee

The SWS Nominations Committee annually develops a pool of nominees for all elected SWS positions which includes Council members, Committee Chairs, and selected Committee memberships. The Nominations Committee prepares a slate for submission to a vote of the members in October of each year. The SWS Past President serves as Chair along with four elected members, two of whom are elected each year to serve a two-year term. The Nominations Committee is responsible for collecting the survey responses of all of the candidates and for editing these responses for any typos. The Nominations Committee should work closely with the Executive Officer to make sure that all responses are complete and similarly formatted. The Nominations Committee should consider the types of data they collect and may want to consult with the Membership Committee on this to make it standardized with the data that the Vice President collects for the survey of the American Sociological Association’s candidates for elected office.

Membership Committee

The Membership Committee is charged with the recruitment of new members and affirmation of current and past members. The committee is chaired by the SWS Vice President.  It includes four other elected members (2 elected each year for a two-year term), the Student Representative to Council, and the SWS Secretary (as ex officio without a vote).  Volunteer members are welcomed.  This committee has three basic projects: 1) serving as liaison between local and regional chapters and the national organization, 2) running the Hand Welcome Program and 3) constituting a welcoming presence at meetings.  The committee has traditionally divided responsibility for these tasks among the elected members.

The national liaison’s duties include maintaining a list of active SWS local and regional chapters and contact persons, collecting annual reports from local and regional chapters; making sure the information on local and regional chapters on the SWS Website is current, working with the Executive Office and officers of local and regional SWS chapters to publicize events through Network News, and asking and answering chapter questions.  This person also assists in the formation of new chapters by advising on new chapter guidelines, publicizing new chapters in formation. The Hand Welcome Programpairs experienced members with new members to help integrate them into SWS by making sure participants understand the expectations for the program, matching pairs of experienced and new members, and providing email introductions in advance of the meeting. The Hand Welcome Program is not meant to be a formal mentoring program.

Publications Committee

The Publications Committee has six elected members (two elected each year for a 3-year term). The Committee elects its own Co-chairs, one of whom serves as junior co-chair for a year and becomes senior-co-chair in the second year. Six ex-officio (and non-voting) members include the SWS Treasurer, Treasurer-Elect, Gender & SocietyEditor, Network News Editor, Book Review Editor, and the Executive Officer. The Committee reports to Council. The Publications Committee oversees publications issued by the organization, primarily Gender & Society including the Book Review function. The committee’s duties include (but are not limited to): negotiation of a contract with publishers for Gender & Society, appointment of editors for Gender & Society and approval of budgets for the journal, review of proposals for special issues of Gender & Society and appointment of the Book Review Editor of Gender & Society. At the discretion of the Publications Committee and after approval of Council, the positions of Journal Editor, Book Review Editor, and Network NewsEditor may be held by a team rather than a single individual. The official appointment (term of service, compensation, duties) of the Book Review Editor, Network NewsEditor, Social Media Coordinator, and Publicity Specialist is made by the Executive Officer after consultation with the Publications Committee and Council, as appropriate.

Awards Committee

The Awards Committee is charged with overseeing the awards nomination and selection process for all SWS awards, most of which are given annually. Members of the Awards Committee consist of a Chair who is elected by the membership, three members (one who is elected in even years and two who are elected in odd years) who are each elected for a two-year term, and chair one of the various subcommittees that oversee the awards that SWS confers. The subcommittees that elected members manage include: the Feminist Lecturer Award, the Feminist Mentoring Award (after the 2019 election), and the Feminist Activism Award.  (The SWS President can choose to serve on the committee, ex-officio and without a vote.) With the advice and consent of the committee, the Chair recruits and appoints chairs for each award subcommittee. Chairs can serve up to two years for annual awards. Subcommittee Chairs turnover at the Winter Meeting. The Awards Committee Chair keeps track of the terms of all members and chairs of the award-conferring subcommittees and reports them to the Executive Office for record-keeping purposes and for posting on the website. The Chair of each subcommittee recruits members for that subcommittee to review nominees/applicants and select the winner of the Award. All subcommittee members’ names will appear on the SWS website for transparency in the process and so those individuals are recognized for their service to SWS. Letters for award winners and regret letters are written and emailed from the Executive Office on SWS letterhead and are signed by the Executive Officer. Applications for all SWS awards will only be accepted via the Membership Portal. This means that all applicants must be current SWS members. For nominated awards, such as the Feminist Lecturer Award, Feminist Mentoring Award, and Feminist Activism Award, the award winners must have been members of SWS the year prior to receiving the award. This policy does not apply to self-nominated awards. For all the latest information regarding awards, please visit the Awards Page of the SWS Website.

Career Development Committee

The Career Development Committee (CDC) consists of two elected co-chairs to serve a two-year term, and volunteer members. The Career Development Committee helps support the professional development of feminist sociologists at all stages of their careers. This committee undertakes projects which are oriented toward increasing the employability of SWS members such as workshops, mentoring, and the publication of Hey Jane!

• Workshops
  • The CDC offers workshops at the Winter and Summer meetings. A “Critique Me” Session is regularly offered where seasoned sociologists review job application materials. The Critique Me Session can be offered at both the Winter and Summer Meetings.  Additionally, recent workshops have included: finding and succeeding in non-academic employment, gender and service in the academy, teaching portfolios for tenure/promotion and job applications, developing materials for the job market, going up for full professor; aging in the academy, and giving a good job talk.
• Hey Jane! Publication
  • The CDC produces Hey Jane!- an “advice column” for feminist sociologists. Recent issues have addressed grant seeking, job talks, and negotiating service obligations.
• Mentoring
  • The CDC is also in charge of professional needs mentoring, matching junior and senior feminists who can learn from one another.

Sister to Sister Committee

The Sister to Sister Committee works to support networking and mentoring relationships across racial/ethnic lines for all SWS members. The Sister to Sister Committee offers workshops at the Winter and Summer meetings. Recent workshops focused on ways to make structural changes within SWS to make the organization more inclusive for scholars of color and the needs of junior faculty and graduate students within the organization. This committee administers the Esther Ngan-ling Chow and Mareyjoyce Green Dissertation Scholarship (also known as the Chow-Green Dissertation Scholarship)(that is, it together with a selection subcommittee, selects the awardees from among those nominated).  Co-Chairs lead the committee with the aim being that they represent different racial/ethnic groups. One Co-Chair is elected each year for a two-year term (thus cooperating with the Co-Chair who has served for one year already). Other members of this Committee are volunteers. The names of the individuals who serve on the selection committee will be published on the SWS website. All selection committee members’ names will appear on the SWS website for transparency in the process and so those individuals are recognized for their service to SWS. The Co-Chairs of the Sister to Sister Committee are invited to attend a portion of one of the Council Meetings at the Winter Meeting and Summer Meeting. They should contact the Executive Officer to request this time. The Sister to Sister Committee Co-Chairs manage a Sister to Sister Facebook Group that is separate from the SWS Facebook Group. They should seek assistance from the Executive Officer if they have any questions regarding the moderation of this group. At least one of the Sister to Sister Committee Chairs should attend the Awards Committee Meetings during the Summer and Winter Meetings. At least one member of the Sister to Sister Committee will serve on the Winter Meeting Planning Committee.

Social Action Committee

The Social Action Committee (SAC) Co-Chairs are elected by the membership each year (one elected each year so that there are staggered terms) and all other members are volunteers (or are recruited by the Chair). The Co-Chairs organize meetings, develops agendas, and addresses issues brought to SAC by SWS members. The committee engages in projects that facilitate social activism in research, the classroom, and other contexts.  Among the committee’s projects are encouraging leaders to secure venues for meetings that are union friendly, provide fair-trade coffee, quiet spaces for breastfeeding, and similar concessions and to organize childcare during meetings. The SAC is involved in the selection of three awards each year, the Undergraduate Social Action Award and Social Actions Initiative Awards.  

Committee on Discrimination 

The Committee on Discrimination  is composed of two co-chairs, elected in alternate years for two year terms, and a volunteer membership. The Committee on Discrimination, both as a community of scholars and members of SWS, believes in the continued research regarding the institutional and individual manifestations of discrimination in society, especially in the realm of academia.  Not only does the Committee on Discrimination organize sessions to inform SWS on issues of discrimination in the workplace at SWS Meetings, it also provides direct, individual support to SWS members in need. The Committee on Discrimination assists SWS members when they have experienced discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, age, disability, religion, or other group characteristics, or when their academic freedom or other rights are violated. The Committee on Discrimination is not an investigative body.  Its purpose is not to investigate or judge whether and how discrimination occurred as perceived by the SWS member.

This Committee exists to aid members by offering informational, institutional and/or financial assistance to members of SWS who believe they have been victims of discrimination based on gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, age, disability, religion or other group characteristics, or when their academic freedom or other rights have been violated at their institutions of employment. The Committee on Discrimination is convinced that members should be supported through their experiences of discrimination regardless of background, while paying great attention to how gender and other identities may influence how to proceed.  Consequently, the committee will do its best to provide support to the person in need.

Institutionally, the Committee on Discrimination can write a letter of support to an administrator at the member’s workplace. This letter of support is signed by the current SWS President, President-Elect, and the Chair of the Committee on Discrimination. The letter will state SWS’ knowledge of the situation and encouragement towards a fair resolution. When available, financial support, from the Natalie Allon Fund, can be provided to help defray the cost of legal advice or representation of the member in need

Committee on Academic Justice

The Committee on Academic Justice has two co-chairs, elected in alternate years for two-year terms and is responsible for the following tasks. It identifies structural and institutional issues in academia that are pertinent to gender, race, sexual orientation and other marginalized groups, collects pertinent data, coordinates and communicates with other organizations addressing these issues, and organizes information on best practices toward creating a just academy. This may involve updating the  Lavender Report Card on an annual basis and updating resources on the SWS website. Liaising with the SWS Executive Officer on the allocation of Allon Fund Award money in line with the third priority that is a research grant to support institutional gender-based discrimination, e.g., discrimination based on sex, gender, sexual identity or sexual orientation.

International Committee

The International Committee (IC) consists of an elected Chair and volunteers and members recruited by the chairperson. Its work includes supporting global and transnational feminist scholarship and gender justice. The IC manages the Global Feminist Partnership Program to establish partnership between SWS and feminist academic and activist groups abroad. As appropriate, the IC coordinates SWS activities with the United Nations and the International Sociological Association‘s Research Committee 32, Women, Gender, and Society, as well as the World Social Forum and the US Social Forum. The Committee works with other SWS committees on programs of concern to international members. At least one member of the International Committee will serve on the Program Committee for the Winter Meeting.

United Nations Participation

SWS is a non-governmental organization member of the United Nations with consultative and associative status and currently has seven representatives. Two SWS members serve as representatives to the Department of Global Communications (DGC) and five SWS members serve as representatives to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and representatives to the annual meetings of the Commission on the Status of Women Status of Women (CSW). Close attention should be paid to terms and the sharing of access that comes along with serving in these capacities.  It is advisable that members not serve in more than 2 consecutive terms in these DGC or ECOSOC roles. The International Committee Chair should also work with the Executive Officer to make sure that funds rotate for CSW involvement and that members cannot receive funds more than once within a five-year period.

Global Feminist Partnership Program (GFPP)

SWS establishes collaborations with feminist and gender-equality-centered organizations and non-governmental organizations across the globe. SWS seeks to build its international ties and welcome applications for the Global Feminist Partnerships Program (GFPP). The aim is to build connections with up to two research centers/institutes/programs from each of the following regions: Asia, Africa, Central/Eastern Europe, Latin American Caribbean and the Middle East. The Partnerships Program reflects the commitment of SWS to foster gender rights activism and advocacy, support research on gender issues, increase SWS’s inclusiveness, and build strength by increasing our visibility in the discipline of sociology, on campuses, and in society. The International Committee’s representative on the Winter Meeting Program Committee works closely with the Executive Officer to arrange for the travel of the Global Feminist Partner. When possible, to be more mindful of spending, the GFPP should consider candidates who may already be in the United States on a fellowship or speaking engagement.

Student Caucus and Student Representative to Council

Email Alexis Grant-Panting or Pedrom Nasiri for more details.

The Student Caucus promotes student interests in SWS. The Student Caucus is chaired by the Student Representative and Student Representative-Elect and includes volunteer members who each year elect the Student Representative-Elect for the next year from their ranks. The Caucus’ charge is to oversee, along with the Executive Office, the SWS student listserv, coordinate student functions at Summer and Winter Meetings, and undertake projects designed to increase and maintain student membership in SWS and meet the needs of student members. The Caucus works with other SWS committees and with SWS officers on issues of particular concern to student members. The Student Representative and Student Representative-Elect are voting members of Council during their elected terms. It is advisable that the Student Caucus Representatives recruit at least one student member to serve on all open committees of SWS. It is important that the Student Caucus Meeting not be held during any other committee meeting times in order to encourage student involvement on all committees. At least one member of the Student Caucus will serve on the Winter Meeting Planning Committee. The Student Representative-Elect is elected by the Student Caucus for a two-year term. The Student Representatives serve on Council and represent the interests of our undergraduate and graduate student members.  The Students also chairs the Student Caucus and is responsible for organizing any special events for students at the Winter and Summer Meetings. Additionally, the Student Representatives work with the Executive Officer on student-related projects. The SWS student members elect the Student Representative to Council in an election that is separate from the election for all other offices.