ORGANIZATIONAL INTERSECTIONAL DIVERSITY, INCLUSIVITY, AND EQUITY ASSESSMENT
Request for Proposals, Released on July 29, 2022
Summer 2022
Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS) invites interested and qualified consultants or firms to submit a proposal to conduct an organization-wide intersectional diversity, inclusivity, and equity assessment on race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexuality, age, socioeconomic status, and bodily abilities and to develop an implementation plan to enhance (or improve) our diversity, inclusivity and equity. SWS is committed to diversity, inclusivity, and equity throughout organizational policies, program, processes, systems, communications, and community partnerships, evidenced in our mission statement. We seek guidance on how we can best practice the ideals we aspire to embody.
Organizational Overview: SWS is a feminist professional organization dedicated to transforming the academy and professional organizations, including our own, by actively supporting feminist leadership and advancing career development of feminist scholars. The organization was founded in 1971 by a group of academic feminist scholars who had the prescient belief that feminist sociologists needed a “professional home” to promote and solidify the leadership and scholarship of academic women within the profession. The founding of SWS was influenced by the women’s movement of that time, and thus focused on elevating women scholars. As a nonprofit organization, SWS provided a home to women scholars, many of whom were marginalized within their departments and within the broader sociological landscape. Members grew great strength from the scholarly and emotional support of their SWS colleagues.
Over time, SWS has become more explicit in its intersectional framing of its mission and goals, and has more deliberately welcomed, honored, and supported the diversity of its membership. Through this time, there have been several strategic planning processes, with several objectives: supporting members to find ways to better combine our activist and academic lives, increasing the size and diversity of the membership, encouraging more active participation by members, and promoting social justice in and outside of the academy.
Despite these strategic planning initiatives, to our knowledge, there has never been a formal assessment of the organization’s progress in achieving diversity, equity, and inclusion within its leadership structure, opportunities provided to members, or efforts to support members to bring a diversity, equity, and inclusion framework in their work both in academia as well as in applied settings.
SWS is eager to identify the strengths and challenges we face regarding the extent to which we have implemented our goal of intersectional diversity, inclusivity, and equity based on race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status, and bodily abilities. We invite individuals and/or organizations to propose a design for this endeavor that will provide an organizational-wide assessment of where we are, where we want to be, and to develop strategies to get there. This deliverable should be detailed in its analysis and should offer perspective from members at all levels of the organization to consider the progress that SWS has made in achieving its goals of equity and inclusion, with a focus on areas for improvement.
Scope and Deliverables: The consultant will be tasked with laying the foundation and framework for long-term change in all SWS programming and leadership through the following work:
- Intersectional Diversity, Inclusivity, and Equity Assessment: Conduct an assessment to capture the organizational climate as it relates to the goal of centering all forms of oppression. The assessment should engage key stakeholders (both internal and external, former and current) to the organization, such as Council Members, Committee Chairs and Elected Committee Members, New Members , Continuing Members, Lifetime Members and Community Partners (such as leaders of other non-profit organizations and meeting guests). Specific elements of the assessment shall include, but not be limited to:
- Organizational culture and structure
- Organizational policy, procedures, and decision making
- Programmatic planning and approaches
- Community partnerships
- Membership Relations and Opportunities for Involvement
- Implementation Plan: Based on the assessment results, the consultant will create a summary report and an intersectional diversity, inclusivity, and equity work plan that captures desired processes and outcomes. The work plan will include recommendations for incorporating action steps, timelines, quantitative and qualitative goals to improve operational and programmatic approaches to promote diversity, inclusivity, and equity in all operations and programming.
Consultant’s Qualifications: The following qualifications are important in the selection process:
- Experience developing intersectional diversity, inclusivity and equity implementation plans within academic, activist, and/or feminist nonprofit organizations.
- Respected and endorsed experience leading with an intersectional lens in addressing all forms of systemic oppressions, and helping to move institutions to become more diverse, inclusive and equitable organizations.
- Experience supporting staff (those in leadership roles, and members at varying levels of exposure, comfort and buy-in) and helping folks navigate discomfort while still centering diversity, inclusion, and equity.
- Experience working with communities most impacted by intersecting forms of oppression.
- Prioritization of qualified consultants, who have a strong understanding of the intersections of history of oppressions faced by marginalized and minoritized communities.
Proposal Request and Review Process: This request for proposals is a two-part process, as follows:
- All interested consultants must submit a brief written proposal no more than 5-6 pages
- Selected applicants will be invited to interview with a team of SWS stakeholders where key leaders will ask questions related to the proposal
The proposal must address the following:
- A brief description of your approach to supporting SWS in assessing and operationalizing diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Statement of your (firm’s) qualifications related to this RFP, a short biography of evaluators, and an explanation as to why your evaluation experience and social positions make you a good candidate to conduct this type of evaluation for an organization like SWS.
- Overarching assessment topics, including questions, process, and methods
- Assessment Process to include:
- Sample topics and questions with overarching plan for data collection methods and strategies, rationale for your approach and plans for data assessment.
- Expected deliverables include summary of findings, and framing of an implementation plan which incorporates indicators of success and goals for future tracking and assessment
- Budget & timeline to produce an assessment within 12 months of the contractual date.
Submission Instructions:
Please submit a proposal no later than 5:00 EDT, September 19, 2022.
Submit proposal to Barret Katuna, SWS Executive Officer, at swseo.barretkatuna@outlook.com as a single PDF document. Feel free to direct any questions to Barret Katuna.
Thank you to Mindy Fried and Andres Lopez for their assistance in drafting this RFP.
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: New Editor/Editorial Team of Gender & Society
First Posted – February 2022
Extended Deadline – Friday, June 17, 2022
Gender & Society, published by Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS) since 1987, is a top ranked journal in both gender studies and sociology. The journal receives over 650 new submissions each year with about 11,000 subscribers and about 500,00 article downloads each year. The journal has a strong tradition of supporting mentoring, professional development, disseminating gender scholarship broadly, and for developing feminist scholarship throughout the peer review and editorial process.
The SWS Publications Committee announces a search for the next Editor of Gender & Society, the official journal of SWS. The Editor will serve a four-year term beginning August 2023 with Volume 37 and ending with Volume 40 in December 2026. There will be two transition periods, May to July 31, 2023, to transition into the editorial duties and January through July 31, 2027, to transition to the next Editorial Office. The Publications Committee seeks an Editor or Editorial team with a demonstrated consistent track record of productive scholarship, commitment to the mentoring mission of the journal, and a vision and strategy for maintaining and strengthening Gender & Society as a prestigious interdisciplinary journal. While the publisher, SAGE Publications and SWS provide resources to the editorial office, the journal’s host institution is also expected to provide support for both the Editor and the office. The proposal should indicate the expected institutional support, including a letter from an institutional representative, such as Chair and/or Dean. The proposal must also formally specify the details of the proposed editorial structure, including names and qualifications of all Editors who will be actively involved in the reviewing and editing processes and the methodological and substantive range of the Editorial team.
Gender & Society operates on an electronic platform (Manuscript Central) through which the Editor manages all aspects of the publication and review process. In 2021, the journal received an average of 55 new submissions each month, resulting in about 750 decisions on manuscripts in a year. The average time to a decision on externally reviewed manuscripts is less than 70 days.
It is the Editor’s responsibility to work with the publisher to ensure timely and accurate delivery of manuscripts for bi-monthly publication. The Editorial Office also works with the Book Review Editor and the SWS Media Relations Committee with the aim of promoting the scholarship in the journal through a variety of mechanisms (e.g., blogs, Twitter, Facebook, podcasts, and press releases). The Editor is accountable to SWS (through the Publications Committee) for accomplishing the goals of the journal within the budget.
Editors have taken different approaches to the journal, as discussed in this SWS 2020 session with former editors (https://journals.sagepub.com/home/gas). We strongly encourage prospective applicants to have a preliminary discussion of the work, key issues, resources provided, and expectations with the Chair of the Search Committee and SWS Publications Committee co-chair Victoria Reyes (vreyes@ucr.edu), and the current Editor, Barbara Risman (brisman@uic.edu). Members of SWS are encouraged to apply and/or suggest colleagues who might apply. Editorial teams, preferably at the same institution, are welcome to apply.
Applicants should send a cover letter of application including a vision for the future of the journal, detailed outline of the proposed editorial structure, including capacity to manage the journal’s volume, documentation of institutional support, and curriculum vita of the proposed Editor or Editorial team and any Deputy Editors by June 17, 2022 to: Victoria Reyes at vreyes@ucr.edu.
Important to Note:
First, the editorship comes with substantial funding from SWS and SAGE that editor(s) can use for course releases, to fund managing editors, stipends for the editor(s) and deputy editors, travel, among others. This is in addition to any funds and support provided by anyone’s home institution.
Second, we encourage applications from co-editors or editorial teams (2 or more people). This could be two people within the same university or who are affiliated with different universities. The team may include one person from the Global North and one person from the Global South. The possibilities for the configuration of co-editors or an editorial team are open.
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CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: Next Book Review Editor for Gender & Society
DEADLINE – DECEMBER 6, 2020
The Publications Committee seeks applications and nominations for the position of Book Review Editor for Gender & Society. The Book Review Editor is responsible for coordinating (with the journal editor) the following tasks: 1) selection of books for review, 2) selection of reviewers for books, 3) supervision of the review process, 4) editing reviews for publication, and 5) preparing and presenting activity reports to the Publications Committee at both the SWS Summer and Winter meetings. Approximately 50 book reviews per year are published in Gender & Society.
The hosting institution for the Book Review Editor receives $15,000 in support per year to cover the Book Review Editor’s compensation, student labor, and travel assistance to the SWS Summer and Winter Meetings. For the editorship, desirable resources and skills include experience with journals, editing, and publishing. The Book Review Editor must be a member of SWS.
For more information on the requirements and work of the position, please contact the current Book Review Editor, Catherine Solomon (Catherine.Solomon@quinnipiac.edu).
The appointment is a three-year term, beginning June 1, 2021. Applications should be emailed to Bandana Purkayastha (bandana.purkaystha@uconn.edu) and Yasemin Besen Cassino (beseny@mail.montclair.edu) Co-Chairs of the Publications Committee.
The application should include: 1) a statement of background and interest; 2) a statement of goals for the book review section; 3) a CV; 4) a statement of supportive resources, including (but not limited to) the extent to which the applicant’s institution supports the position in terms of space, management, and administrative issues (such as mailing costs, etc.).
The deadline for applications is December 6, 2020.
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CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: New Editor of Network News
EXTENDED DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS – NOVEMBER 1, 2020
The Publications Committee of Sociologists for Women in Society is pleased to announce a search for the next Editor of our newsletter, Network News. Network News is the official newsletter of Sociologists for Women in Society and is published four times a year. The newsletter is sent to all SWS members via email and is available through PDF and Microsoft Word formats on the SWS website. The Editor will serve a four-year term beginning January 1, 2021 and ending in December 2025. The Editor is responsible for the editorial content of four issues per year, including solicitation of articles for publication and copyediting them, beginning with the Spring 2021 issue, and reports to the Publications Committee at the SWS Winter and Summer meetings.
The Editor envisions, commissions, and edits engaging essays on a variety of topics including: upcoming meetings, activities of international partners, organizational direction and debate, initiatives and their rationales. The Editor works with committee chairs and others leading our activities to develop short essays, that emphasize readability and engagement, about how the organization is developing, thus keeping people “in the loop” who cannot attend in-person meetings. The Editor also can commission provocative essays or “backstage” articles (with word limits) on how the organization has changed over time, current discussions and debates, and where SWS is going. In order to keep each issue to 24-28 pages, we expect to begin with 1-2 articles and slowly increase over the course of the editorship.
The SWS Executive Office gathers informational material, does the layout, and arranges the production and email circulation of the newsletter and its posting on the SWS website.
The Publications Committee seeks an Editor with editorial experience and deep connections to SWS. SWS will provide the Editor with a stipend of $500 per issue and up to $500 travel costs per SWS meeting ($1,000/year), to enable attendance, as well as reporting to the Publications Committee. We will publish up to 4 issues a year. If housed in an institution, editorial applications should indicate if that department/college will offer any supplemental travel costs or support beyond what is provided by SWS. Expected 2021 deadlines for the issues remain the same as in the past: 3/15 for the Spring issue, 5/15 for Summer, 9/15 for Fall, and 11/15 for the Winter issue, and similar article length limits.
A preliminary discussion of the work, key issues, and resources provided/needed is encouraged, with the Co-Chairs of the Publications Committee, Bandana Purkayastha (bandana.purkayastha@uconn.edu) and Yasemin Besen-Cassino (beseny@mail.montclair.edu) current editor, Marjukka Ollilainen (mollilainen@weber.edu). Members of SWS are urged to apply and/or suggest colleagues who might be encouraged to apply.
Applications should contain a statement of interest, including editorial experience; a vision for the future of Network News; a description of any supportive resources from a relevant institution; and Curriculum Vitae by November 1, 2020 via email to: Bandana Purkayastha (bandana.purkayastha@uconn.edu) and Yasemin Besen-Cassino (beseny@mail.montclair.edu) Co-Chairs, SWS Publications Committee. Recommendations will be made by December 1, 2020 and the new Editor will begin January 1, 2021.