Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS)

“When Family Members Refuse the Gender of Trans and Nonbinary People”

By SWSer Stacy Torres -- Vance’s views on older women are an opportunity for Harris

SWS Rebuilding Committee Retreat Update Thanks to the overwhelming support of our members, SWS is fully immersed in an association-wide rebuilding and regeneration effort. During our first extensive rebuilding retreat held in early August, the Rebuilding Committee discussed what?values guide us as an organization?as we spent time?co-creating an?organizational timeline of SWS history?in the context of the global feminist movement,?learning about effective healing responses?as members and staff navigate conflict and harassment, and?deliberating on specific actions?the association should adopt for long-term sustainability. Participants at the retreat shared a commitment to improve the association for the next generation by taking a forward-looking approach guided by purpose and values. It means we appreciate reciprocal relationships to/with the association in order to “give back” to the larger community.?Our rebuilding work is to envision a future informed by lessons from the past that will make SWS better for everyone. SWS is built on relationships amongst members, and those connections must be at the heart of the rebuilding efforts. That is why it remains important to be in dialogue, ask clarification questions, extend grace when mistakes are made, have a mechanism of accountability for harms, and express gratitude to the staff and the nearly 100 current members actively volunteering their time to restore this association of nearly 800 members, which includes 75 new and returning members since February 2024. We thank them for volunteering their time, insights, and energy towards this incredible undertaking, participating in the rebuilding retreats, being on the Advisory Board and Legacy Circle, and going above and beyond to support the limited operations of the association at this time. The focus for SWS is the individual and collective work of rebuilding a stronger association that serves our core feminist principles and purpose.?We recognize that too much time and energy has been taken away from our core purpose to respond to inaccurate and baseless attacks designed to fuel vitriol and outrage.?SWS leadership and the Executive Office have addressed these false and harmful attacks and other matters in direct communications as well as?in our FAQs. As an association, SWS has to act responsibly, not reactively.?A new and troubling dynamic to today’s challenges is the use of social media to “call out” SWS and elected leaders with little or no regard for collegial discussions, accuracy or harm to staff and members. We discussed at the retreat that “call outs” are not a unique experience to SWS, though we are better equipped to confront and understand it, drawing from the work of adrienne maree brown’s?We Will Not Cancel Us. SWS thanks our facilitators from?In the Works?and?Untangled Resolutions?for guiding our rebuilding work. We continue to move forward. Now is our time, our moment to make an indelible mark in SWS history.

GENDERED VULNERABILITY IN NECROPOLITICAL BORDERING

Call for Submissions: Special Issue

Is There a Better Way to Address Gender-Based Violence in SportsWorld?

SWS Members Overwhelmingly Vote to Support a Regeneration and Rebuilding Phase As our community moves through a painful and challenging time, SWS recognizes the need for healing and growth. Understanding that listening must lead to action, SWS leadership has launched a Rebuilding and Regenerating Process aimed at creating an inclusive, thriving, and responsive feminist membership association.? With overwhelming support, the membership voted in June 2024 to modify the SWS bylaws and begin an association-wide rebuilding effort.?We are heartened by the membership’s support and have moved quickly to set that process in motion by forming a Rebuilding Committee to oversee that effort. The Committee is holding its first working retreat in early August 2024 with expert facilitators to map out the ambitious effort going forward, which will consist of: - Reconceptualizing the Council and Committee leadership structure and creating effective onboarding and training of leadership. - Revising all SWS policies and the Operations and Procedures Manual, known as the Manual, and?proposing new and transparent policies to better serve all members of the Association. - Devising new guidelines on community engagement and identifying better forms of membership communication.? - Creating new models of mentoring at various career stages. - Developing a new complaints and conflict resolution infrastructure with the support of a DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging) consulting service trained in mediation and restorative justice. The Rebuilding Committee and SWS leadership will provide updates to membership and hold Community Forums for conversation throughout this process, and a Rebuilding Committee section has been added as the first drop-down menu on the Member Portal website with all the relevant information, including how to submit suggestions or questions about the rebuilding effort.? During this transitional time, SWS will modify its standard operations to?fully focus on the important rebuilding work. The Council will still meet during this phase and the Executive Office will be open, though members may experience delays in any responses due to the rebuilding underway. We appreciate your patience and engagement as we create an environment where all voices are heard and respected. Together, we will build a stronger, more inclusive organization that lives up to its foundational feminist principles. https://socwomen.org/

June 14, 2024 Yesterday, the SWS Executive Office and some Council members were made aware of resigned members posting misinformation online about the SWS Executive Office and SWS leadership. These social media posts are putting SWS employees and leaders at elevated risk for online harassment, including doxxing. The continued targeting of SWS, employees, and members in leadership on social media and via emails must stop now. In an effort to move with improved communication and transparency, the SWS Executive Office and leadership sent separate emails to two resigned members who had received SWS awards to inform them they would be ineligible for future benefits associated with their awards as they were no longer members. These former members could keep the award benefits received to date, specifically their award money and recognition of them being award recipients on their CVs and on the SWS website. As is true of most academic associations, individuals who are no longer members are ineligible to continue receiving the benefits of membership. These awards provided by SWS are designed specifically for current members, to amplify the work and voices of SWS, and being an SWS member is a qualification of such awards. Offering benefits specifically meant for current members to non-members goes against the criteria of these awards. Please be very cautious, even wary, of information about SWS that is not coming directly from the SWS Executive Office and Council. Since the conclusion of the 2024 Winter Meeting, SWS has issued several memos and created a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) webpage on the Member Portal to provide members with verifiable and reliable information about various SWS matters. We ask that members not engage or amplify these misinformation posts on social media in any way as it elevates the risk of being harassed online. This experience should serve as an important reminder to everyone to not believe everything posted on social media. Social media posts targeting employees and elected leaders are contributing to a hostile workplace and seem intent on fostering chaos and confusion amongst members. SWS efforts to rebuild remain undeterred. As the SWS Executive Office, our commitment to members is to learn from this entire experience in order to restore and rebuild an association with you that better supports members and employees.??

Career Opportunities

Are you hiring? Post your job opportunities with SWS. - Sociologists for Women in Society