Gender & Society Releases Statement on Hoax Paper: ‘We are even more confident in our review process.’

by Barret KatunaOctober 5, 2018October 5, 2018

Headline: Gender & Society Releases Statement on Hoax Paper

Subhead: ‘We are even more confident in our review process.’

A recently submitted article that has since been discovered to be false, circulated through Gender & Society recently. Through a rigorous process, editors for Gender & Society found that the paper lacked the empirical data necessary for the flagship publication of Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS).

“We encourage people not to write devastating reviews of papers,” said SWS member Dr. Amy Stone, Deputy Editor of Gender & Society and Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Trinity University in San Antonio, Tex. “There was a generosity of spirit in which we presumed that the author was a graduate student who needed mentoring. We provided 13 pages of feedback to coach and mentor the author, but the paper was clearly not up to our standards.”

Gender & Society is a peer-reviewed journal focused on research related to sociology, gender studies and women’s studies. The journal publishes less than 10% of all papers submitted to it. Articles focus on gender and gendered processes in interactions, organizations, societies and global and transnational spaces. The journal follows a rigorous review process that goes through several stages of review. Editors and reviewers noted that writing a long paper under false pretense is unprecedented in their experience, and demonstrates a larger attack on the social sciences with a particular focus on fields related to gender and sexuality.

“This experience demonstrates a larger assault on the truth and our need to be literate in our reading and absorption of information. We tend to trust that the authors are genuine people,” said Dr. Jo Reger, Editor of Gender & Society, SWS member, and Professor of Sociology, Oakland University in Rochester, Mich. “This shows a lack of respect for the work that we do. People don’t really know what we do. If they did, they should be convinced by it. We are publishing knowledge that is not politicized.”

SWS Letter Regarding Draft Decree in Hungary Proposing Elimination of All Gender Studies Programs

by Barret KatunaAugust 23, 2018

SWS Letter from President, Adia Harvey Wingfield, Regarding Draft Decree in Hungary Proposing Elimination of All Gender Studies Programs

Letter to Dr. Josef Bódis, State Secretary for Education, Ministry of Human Capacities, Hungary

SWS Statement on Harassment and Sexual Violence

by Barret KatunaAugust 20, 2018

SWS STATEMENT ON HARASSMENT AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE

Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS), like many other organizations, is reckoning with how to deal with and respond to the issue of sexual and gender harassment. As accounts from the #MeToo Movement reiterate, this sort of harassment is painfully common across workplaces, industries, and occupations.

It is important to state publicly and unequivocally: SWS does not tolerate, condone, or accept harassment of any type. There is no question that such behavior is detrimental to individual health, career opportunities, relationships, and adversely affects survivors in many other areas of life. But on top of that, it undermines trust in institutions and individuals; and perpetuates various types of inequalities. And finally, acts of harassment are incompatible with our values as a feminist organization.

Additionally, we recognize that harassment comes in many forms and is not just driven by gender. Harassment also occurs on the basis of race, nationality, ethnicity, ability, sexual identity, religious practice, and other factors. None of this is acceptable.

The recent attention to this issue within our discipline reminds us that in many cases, organizational policies maintain the status quo and re-victimize survivors. In doing so, institutions frequently protect themselves and the harasser(s) in question rather than taking steps to sanction and prohibit the harassing behavior itself. As a feminist organization, SWS has a special responsibility not to follow this pattern. Many of our members are people who have experienced some type of harassment themselves. Thus, it is incumbent upon us to act in accordance with our principles of transforming academia through feminist leadership and promoting social justice through activism. Given that women and non-binary people of all backgrounds are disproportionately likely to be harassed due to their subordinate position in society, there is no question that this is a feminist issue. Standing against harassment is not just a timely issue, it is a key opportunity to stand for our principles and to put action behind our beliefs.

SWS has some resources in place already to support survivors: the Discrimination and Academic Justice Committee, mentoring program, and Natalie Allon fund are all examples. But there’s still more we can do to model how an organization can take harassment seriously and operate in a way that respects survivors and recognizes the pervasiveness of this issue. In the coming weeks and months, we will be developing a working group to look into ways that we as an organization can strengthen and improve the measures we already have in place, as well as consider new ones that could also be beneficial. SWS has an opportunity here to model ways that organizations can establish measures that are fair, deliberate, transparent, and equitable. These measures need not compromise our ideals, mission, or values. And perhaps most importantly, they should not re-victimize those who have survived harassment. Together, we have an opportunity to seize the moment and show how feminist leadership and organizations can create necessary and positive change.

Carole Joffe’s Washington Post Piece on the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh

by Barret KatunaJuly 10, 2018July 10, 2018

With the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh, Roe v. Wade is likely dead

How post-Roe America will look different from pre-Roe America

Click Here to Access the Article

By Carole Joffe

July 10, 2018

Carole Joffe is a professor in the Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health program at the University of California, San Francisco and author of “Dispatches from the Abortion Wars.” Carole Joffe is a member of SWS.

SWS Partners with the March for Science

by Barret KatunaJuly 6, 2018July 6, 2018

In July 2018, SWS Council voted to partner with the March for Science. The American Sociological Association and many other organizations have partnered with the March for Science.

Please visit: www.marchforscience.com for more information.

For a list of all the partners, please visit this link:

https://www.marchforscience.com/partners

SWS will soon be listed as a partner.

The March for Science movement advocates the importance of making sure that science remains a part of political conversations. It is an ongoing movement. There is a summit this July 6-8, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. Please click here for more information on the summit.