to foster and publish development of feminist analytic perspectives in all dimensions of anthropology;
to facilitate communication among feminist anthropologists and between them and feminist scholars in other related fields;
to provide information on issues related to gender differences and to gender-based discrimination within the discipline and society;
to encourage integration of intersectional feminist research from the different subfields of anthropology and to bring the focal concerns of feminist anthropology into the development of the subdisciplines.
to support and draw attention to Black, indigenous, and people of color’s perspectives and feminist scholarship.
The Section shall be autonomous in all matters within its field that are not reserved by the Bylaws of the American Anthropological Association, inimical to the American Anthropological Association’s interests, or prohibited by law.
The Section shall have elected and/or appointed officers as set forth in these Bylaws.
The Section is empowered to determine membership dues.
The Section shall determine voting requirements on all Section matters.
The Section may engage in publishing and program activities, appoint editors, committees and other agents, and set publication and program policies appropriate to publish newsletters, proceedings, monographs, reports, bulletins, journals, and books.
The Section is empowered to organize itself into Sections, Branches of Interest Groups, in accordance with the Bylaws of the American Anthropological Association.
Membership in the Section shall be open to any Member in good standing of the American Anthropological Association who supports the above purposes, subject to the payment of dues stipulated by the Executive Board of the Section.
A member in good standing shall be eligible to hold elective or appointive office, participate in the scientific program, receive publications, nominate and receive awards, and have one vote in nominating and electing officers and the transaction of other business of the Section.
For just cause, a Member may be deprived of membership by a two-thirds vote of the Executive Board, subject to appeal to the Members at the Annual Meeting.
The officers shall be a President, President-elect, Secretary, and Treasurer. The terms of office of the President and President-elect shall be two years and the terms of Secretary and Treasurer shall be three years, commencing at the conclusion of the Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association.
President (elected): The President shall be the presiding office of the Association and Chairperson of the Board. The President shall have the usual appointive powers and shall exercise all the duties and responsibilities associated with this office, with the advice and consent of the Board.
President-elect (elected): In the absence of the President or in the President’s inability to serve, the President-elect shall assume the duties of the President and the section will fill the office of President-elect by election.
Secretary (elected): The Secretary shall be responsible for the maintenance of the records of the section, and otherwise discharge the duties commonly associated with the office.
Treasurer (elected): The Treasurer shall be responsible for the administration of the finances of the section and the journal subject to budgetary and other regulations approved by the Board. The Treasurer shall be the Society’s fiscal agent in dealing with the Association, the journal, and with other persons or organizations. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the maintenance of proper and adequate records which at all times shall be open to inspection of the Board, and for provision of necessary financial information to the Association. At the Annual Meeting of the Board, the Treasurer shall submit a budget to the Board for the ensuing year and shall render an annual report which shall be included in the Annual Report of the section.
Editor(s)
The Editor(s) shall submit an annual budget to the Board through the Treasurer. Subject to approval of those budgets, all bills relating to publishing shall be certified to the Treasurer by the Editors. The Editor(s) shall report to the AFA Executive Board annually during the section board meeting and to the members during the business meeting. This report is separate from the annual report due to AAA publishing offices.
The Editor(s) shall convene an editorial board. The editor(s) shall meet with the editorial board during the annual meetings,
The Editors may, subject to review by the Board, appoint Associate and Assistant Editors. The Associate and Assistant Editors shall serve concurrently with and under the direction of the Editor, to whom they shall be responsible. The Editors may, subject to authorization and budgetary provisions by the Board and the Association. employ clerical and editorial assistance.
If the circumstances of an editor search require more time than the incumbent's term of service, the editor's term may be extended by the Board for no more than one year.
There shall be an Executive Board consisting of the officers, one editor seat, one elected graduate student representative, one elected program chair, and three members elected at-large from the membership of the Section.
Subject to directives and limitations imposed by the Members of the Section, the Executive Board shall have the authority to execute on behalf of the Section all powers and functions defined in these Bylaws at any point in time.
The Executive Board shall meet at least once annually, at the time of the Annual Meeting, and may meet additionally at the call of the President or a majority vote of the Executive Board.
At-large members of the Executive Board shall be elected for three-year terms, by the membership.
The Executive Board shall make all non-elective appointments and may make interim appointments to fill vacancies in any elective office until the next regularly scheduled election.
At the time of each Annual Meeting, the Executive Board shall report its activities to the Members and to the Board of Directors of the American Anthropological Association. The report shall include the reports of the Treasurer, editors of publications, committees, and other agents representing the Section.
Candidates for any elective office may be nominated by the Executive Board, by a Nominations Committee, or by Members. All candidates shall be Members in good standing of the Section.
A Nominations Committee of three (3) Members shall be appointed annually by the Executive Board.
The Nominations Committee shall nominate two (2) persons for each vacant office. The Nominations Committee will finalize the slate and it will be presented to the AFA membership via ballot provided by the AAA.
For the position of Journal Editor(s), the President may appoint a special search committee, including at least three Executive Board members.
A referendum may be conducted by the Members by mail or electronic ballot, provided that a proposed amendment is approved by two-thirds (2/3) of the votes cast
The fiscal year of the Section shall be that of the American Anthropological Association.
The Section shall submit an annual operating budget to the American Anthropological Association Board of Directors, which when approved, shall govern Section activities.
The income from annual dues and from investments and other sources shall constitute a working fund, available for operating, publication, and current expenses consistent with the purposes of the Section.
No financial obligation in excess of funds available in the treasury shall be assumed by the Executive Board or by any officer on behalf of the Section except that for the purposes of this section, estimated receipts from annual dues and other accounts receivable for the current year may be considered as available funds.
The Section may establish special funds to be administered by the American Anthropological Association for purposes the Section may designate.
The section may request the establishment of endowment funds for the purposes of awarding prizes, awards or scholarships to be administered by the American Anthropological Association. Such funds must follow the AAA guidelines for the establishment of endowment funds.
The Anthropology Newsletter shall be the official newsletter of the Section.
Feminist Anthropology will be the section's peer-reviewed journal. The editor or editors will share a single ex-officio, non-voting role on the Board.
The editor(s) shall have full charge of the journal, under the direction of the Board and subject to the Section bylaws. The Editor(s) have full independent editorial authority for the journal.
The Section may institute additional publications, subject to the approval of the Members and in accordance with the bylaws.
These bylaws may be amended by the Members by mail or electronic ballot, provided that a proposed amendment is approved by two-thirds (2/3) of the votes cast.
The amendments and provisions of these bylaws shall be effective immediately upon adoption and shall supersede and nullify all previous amendments and provisions, unless otherwise specifically provided in the amendments or the balloting on it.
Amendments may be proposed by the Board or by initiative petition.
