The Status of Women and Gender Minoritized Persons in the Professions Committee

Charge

The Status of Women and Gender Minoritized Persons in the Professions Committee (SWAG) recommends policies and good practices to assure the full access, belonging, and academic freedom of women and gender minoritized persons within the Academy and develops programs to enhance their status in their professions.

Duties and Responsibilities

Members of the Status of Women and Gender Minoritized Persons in the Profession Committee are expected to participate in the following:

• Collectively identifying ways to improve the AAR with respect to gender equity, diversity, and inclusion
• Designing programming and initiatives to carry out these improvements and to raise awareness about issues of sexism and misogyny, including transmisogyny
• Annual Meeting events and activities
• Mentoring programs, including a Mentoring Lunch at the Annual Meeting in November

Meeting Schedule

• One in-person meeting at the Annual Meeting in November, usually on Friday morning
• Meetings in fall and winter via Zoom; additional Zoom meetings as needed
• In January or February every other year, committee members meet in person with the other status committees for a summit.

Annual Meeting Activities

• Women and Gender Minorities Mentoring Lunch
  • Each year, the Status of Women and Gender Minoritized Persons in the Professions Committee organizes a luncheon during the Annual Meeting. Several mid-career and senior AAR scholars gather with newer and emerging scholars in the field to discuss pertinent issues such as choosing an adviser, getting published, contract negotiation, and the challenge of balancing work and personal commitments. The lunch is cosponsored with the Status of Racial and Ethnic Minoritized People in the Professions Committee.
• Special Topics Forums
  The Status of Women and Gender Minoritized Persons in the Professions Committee holds at least one special topics forum on a subject of concern to women in religion. We will continue our initiative to increase the visibility of women and gender minoritized scholars of religion on issues of public concern. Feel free to contact the committee’s staff liaison with ideas and topics.

Resources

• AAR and Committee Publications
  • Professional Conduct Policy 
• Archived Material
  • Work/Life Balance Project
  • Not for Women Only – RSN column (archived)
  • Academic Abby (now archived)
  • A Guide for Women in Religion: Making Your Way from A to Z, revised ed. Edited by Mary Hunt, Kecia Ali, Monique Moultrie. Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
• External Resources
  • SBL Status of Women in the Profession Committee
  • Surviving and Thriving in Academia
  • Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion
  • AAR/SBL Women’s Caucus
• Related Program Units
  • Women and Religion Unit
  • Feminist Theory and Religious Reflection Unit
  • Lesbian-Feminisms and Religion Unit
  • Womanist Approaches to Religion & Society Unit

Committee Members

• Term of Service: Four years, non-renewable
• Committee Composition: Up to six members