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Association for Feminist Anthropology
A Section of the American Anthropological Association
Bylaws
(Amended January 2007)

ARTICLE I. Name
1. The Section shall be known as the Association for Feminist Anthropology, hereinafter referred to as the Section.

ARTICLE II. Purposes
1. The purposes of the Section shall be (a) to foster development of feminist analytic perspectives in all dimensions of anthropology; (b) to facilitate communication among feminist anthropologists and between them and feminist scholars in other related fields; (c) to provide information on issues related to gender differences and to gender-based discrimination within the discipline and society; (d) to encourage integration of feminist research from the different subfields of anthropology and to bring the focal concerns of feminist anthropology into the development of the subdisciplines.

ARTICLE III. Powers
1. 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.
2. The Section shall have an elected President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and other elected or appointed officers as set forth in these Bylaws.
3. The Section is empowered to determine membership dues.
4. The Section shall determine voting requirements on all Section matters.
5. The Section may engage in publishing and program activities, appoint editors, committees and other agents, and set publication and program policies appropriate to its purposes.
6. The Section is empowered to organize itself into Sections, Branches of Interest Groups, in accordance with the Bylaws of the American Anthropological Association.
7. The Secretary shall adopt and maintain Bylaws or Rules of Procedure consistent with the American Anthropological Association Bylaws. The Section shall file with the American Anthropological Association Secretary a copy of its current Bylaws, Rules of Procedures, and Table of Organization.

ARTICLE IV. Membership
1. 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.
2. A member in good standing shall be eligible to hold elective or appointive office, participate in the scientific program, receive publications, and have one vote in nominating and electing officers and the transaction of other business of the Section.
3. 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.

ARTICLE V. Dues
1. The Executive Board shall set the annual dues of Members and may establish rates for special categories of membership.
2. Any member in arrears in the payment of dues shall lose all membership privileges.

ARTICLE VI. Officers
1. The officers shall be a President, President-elect, Secretary, and Treasurer.
2. The President shall be the presiding officer of the Section, and its first representative on the Board of Directors of the American Anthropological Association, and its representative on the Executive Board of the American Anthropological Association.
3. The President-elect shall assume the duties of the President in the event of absence, death, resignation or incapacity of the President, and shall succeed to the office of President at the expiration of the term as President-elect, and, should the Section be entitled to such representation, shall serve as the second representative on the Board of Directors of the American Anthropological Association.
4. The Treasurer shall have charge of the fiscal records of the Section and shall submit a draft budget for the approval of the Executive Board of the AAA not less than sixty (60) days before the Annual Meeting.
5. The Secretary will take minutes of all Executive Board and Association Meetings, keep the records of the Association, and distribute copies of the bylaws to new members of the Executive Board. The Secretary will also receive proposals for consideration at the Annual Business Meeting, prepare and keep the address and email lists for the Executive Board, and undertake any other secretarial tasks delegated by the President.
6. 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.

ARTICLE VII. Executive Board
1. There shall be an Executive Board consisting of the officers, four members elected at-large from the membership of the Section, and any additional representatives elected by the Section to the Board of Directors of the American Anthropological Association.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. At-large members of the Executive Board shall be elected for three-year terms, by the membership.
5. 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.

ARTICLE VIII. Annual Report
1. 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.

ARTICLE IX. Meetings
1. The Section shall hold an Annual Business Meeting at the time of the Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association.
2. The place and date of the Annual Meeting shall be disclosed to the Members not less than one hundred twenty (120) days in advance of the meeting.
3. New legislation or resolutions proposed by Members for consideration at the Annual Business Meeting must be received by the Secretary at least twenty (20) days prior to the meeting to be placed on the Agenda. A copy of the Agenda shall be furnished to all Members attending the Annual Business Meeting. Resolutions and new legislation passed at the Business Meeting shall take force ten (10) days after the Business Meeting, except in cases where the Executive Board votes, within ten (10) days and by a two-thirds majority, to submit a resolution to a mail ballot. Mail ballots so required shall be subject to provisions of Article XII. A majority of votes cast shall constitute a favorable result.
4. Business conducted at Section Meetings shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order, newly revised.
5. The Executive Board shall appoint a Program Chair who shall organize the scientific program of the Section.
6. Special meetings may be called by the Executive Board upon written request of five (5) percent of the Members.

ARTICLE X. Quorum
1. Five (5) percent of the Members in good standing shall constitute a quorum at the Annual Business Meeting.
2. A majority of the members of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum for transacting business.
3. The business of the Section shall be transacted by majority vote unless otherwise provided in these bylaws.

ARTICLE XI. Nominations and Elections
1. 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.
2. A Nominations Committee of three (3) Members shall be appointed annually by the Executive Board.
3. The Nominations Committee shall nominate two (2) persons for each vacant office, except that a nominee for the offices of Secretary and Treasurer may run unopposed. The Nominations Committee will solicit nominations from AFA members at the annual business meeting. The Nominations Committee will finalize the slate and it will be presented to the AFA membership via ballot provided by the AAA.
4. The Secretary shall inform the prospective nominees of the probable extent of the burden of office. A nomination becomes effective only upon filing with the Secretary a statement of the nominee’s willingness and ability to devote such time to the affairs of the Section as necessary to the effective execution of office.

ARTICLE XII. Balloting
1. A member in good standing shall be entitled to cast one ballot in any election or referendum.
2. AFA will follow all procedures for elections set forth in the AAA bylaws.
ARTICLE XIII. Referenda
1. A referendum may be conducted by mail ballot at any time upon initiation of the Executive Board, or upon receipt by the Secretary of a petition signed by five (5) percent of the Members in good standing. A majority of votes received shall constitute a favorable vote.

ARTICLE XIV. Finances
1. The fiscal year of the Section shall be that of the American Anthropological Association.
2. The Section shall submit an annual operating budget to the American Anthropological Association Board of Directors, which when approved, shall govern Section activities.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. The Section may establish special funds to be administered by the American Anthropological Association for purposes the Section may designate.

ARTICLE XV. Publications
1. The Anthropology Newsletter shall be the official newsletter of the Section.
2. The Section may institute additional publications, subject to the approval of the Members and in accordance with the bylaws.

ARTICLE XVI. Amendment
1. These bylaws may be amended by the Members by mail ballot, provided that a proposed amendment is approved by two-thirds (2/3) of the votes cast.
2. Amendments may be proposed by the Executive Board or by five (5) percent of the Members in good standing. The Executive Board shall have the proposed amendment circulated to the Members and it shall allow thirty (30) days for the return of ballots.
3. 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.

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