The Committee on the Status of Women in Sociology monitors the participation of women in the discipline and in the affairs of the Association, and reports to the Council and to the membership of the Association its findings and recommendations for enhancing such participation.
The Committee consists of six members of the Association. Membership of the committee is recommended to Council by the Committee on Committees and appointments are made by the President and/or Council for a three year term of office. Each year two members begin, and two members end their term of office. While members of the Committee on the Status of Women may recommend prospective members to the Committee on Committees, they do not select their own members. They do, however, elect the committee's chair. The chair of the Committee on the Status of Women is elected by the committee members from among their ranks and must be someone who will be a continuing and active member of the committee for at least one year. The chair is elected at the scheduled meeting of the committee during the annual PSA meeting and serves for one year. The chair can be reelected.
1. Responsibilities and duties of the committee.
In addition to monitoring the participation of women in the discipline and the association, the committee also proposes sessions for the annual meeting and tries to identify candidates for office or committees in order to maintain gender balance. Candidates for committees are forwarded to the Chair of the Committee on Committee's and candidates for elected office are forwarded to the Chair of the Nomination's Committee.
2. Procedures for making decisions.
Decisions of the committee are made at the annual meeting and/or through email correspondence between the chair and committee members.
3. Duties of the Chair.
The chair develops the agenda for the annual committee meeting. It is the chair's responsibility to communicate to Council action items that require Council decision or input. The chair also keep the committee's file or archive in order and passes it on to the next chair. In addition, the chair makes certain that Session Proposal forms are filled out and submitted to the Chair of the Program Committee for sessions the Committee on the Status of Women sponsor at the annual meeting. The deadline for submission of the forms is usually May 1. Proposal Forms are available from the PSA Office, online as the association's Web site and at the registration table at the annual meeting. Finally, the chair has the responsibility for writing the annual report on the committee's activities, which is published in the PSA Newsletter. The deadline for submission of the report to the Secretary May 1.
4. Calendar of Committee Activities.
by October: Chair communicates with members of the committee and establishes the committee's agenda for the coming year.
by March: Chair establishes the committee's specific agenda for the annual meeting. The agenda is sent by email at least three weeks prior to the meeting.
at the annual meeting: The Chair conducts the meeting. Appoints someone to take notes. Passes on action items, if any, to PSA Council. Discussion of next year's PSA meeting and possible sessions the committee might sponsor. Specific members are assigned specific responsibilities.
by May 1: Make certain all Session Proposal Forms are in the hands of the Program Chair for next year's PSA meeting. Write and send the annual report of the committee's activities to the Secretary for publication in the PSA Newsletter.
