Bylaws

 

ARTICLE I. Name

1. The Association, a development of the Berkeley Women and Language Group, shall be known as the International Gender and Language Association, hereinafter referred to as IGALA or 'the Association'.

ARTICLE II. Purposes

1. The purposes of the Association shall be:

• to promote and support the study and teaching of language, gender, and sexuality and to encourage international participation here
• to encourage communication of the results of such study, in particular through the Association's journal, Gender and Language journal (henceforth 'the Journal') and through the Association's biennial conferences
• to create and support international and national research networks
• to encourage research across disciplinary boundaries
• to speak authoritatively to the wider world about gender, sexuality and language issues, though appropriate media

ARTICLE III. Powers

1. The Association shall have an elected President, Secretary, Webweaver and other elected or appointed officers as set forth in these Bylaws. The Association shall have an appointed Treasurer as set forth in these Bylaws.

2. The Executive Committee is empowered to determine membership dues, taking into consideration the close relationship between the Association and the Journal.

3. The Association shall determine voting requirements on all Association matters.

4. In addition to the organization of conferences, the Association may engage in publishing and appoint editors, committees and other agents, and set publication policies appropriate to its purposes.

5. The Association shall adopt and maintain Bylaws or Rules of Procedure.

ARTICLE IV. Membership

1. Membership in the Society shall be open to anyone who supports the Purposes in Article II subject to the payment of dues stipulated by the Executive Committee of the Association.

2. A Member in good standing shall be eligible to hold elective or appointive office, give presentations at the official IGALA conference and participate in any other Association-sponsored meetings or research projects, and have one vote in nominating and electing officers and the transaction of other business of the Association.

3. The Executive Committee of the Association shall have the authority to establish special categories of membership and shall try to help ensure that participation is not limited to those with access to significant financial resources.

ARTICLE V. Dues

1. 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, Past President, Secretary, Webweaver and Treasurer.

2. The President shall be the presiding officer of the Association, and shall succeed to the office of Past President at the expiration of the term as President. Normally a President's term will run for two years, i.e. from one biennial IGALA Conference to the next.

3. The President Elect shall assume the duties of the President in the event the President cannot serve, and shall succeed to the office of President at the expiration of the term as President-elect.

4. The Secretary shall maintain records of meetings and decisions, call and run elections, and post minutes of public meetings and results of elections to the Membership at large. The Secretary shall also maintain the membership list, in consultation with the Journal editors.

5. The Treasurer shall have charge of the financial records of the Society. She (or he) shall submit a financial/budget report once a year, at the IGALA Executive e-meeting, and shall submit a report on the Association's activities and finances to the membership at the open Association business meeting held at each official IGALA conference.

6. The Past President shall serve on the Executive Committee and assume other duties at the discretion of the Executive Committee.

7. The terms of office of all officers shall be approximately two years, following the election.

8. The Executive committee shall appoint a Treasurer for a term of four years, which may be renewed.

9. The Executive Committee shall determine a replacement process if an officer or council member resigns during her (or his) term of office.

10. The document entitled 'IGALA Executive Job Descriptions' shall provide further guidance as to Officers' roles and responsibilities, and shall be posted on the IGALA website.

ARTICLE VII. Executive Committee

1. There shall be an Executive Committee consisting of the officers and 5-8 Advisory Council members (see Article VIII).

2. Subject to directives and limitations imposed by the Members of the Association, the Executive Committee shall have the authority to execute on behalf of the Association all powers and functions defined in these Bylaws.

3. The Executive Committee shall appoint the Treasurer and may if necessary make interim appointments to fill vacancies in any elective office until the next regularly scheduled election.

4. The Executive Committee (the officers and Advisory Council Members) shall meet at least once bi-annually, at the time of IGALA conference, and at least once a year (electronically). It may meet additionally on the call of the President or a majority vote of the Executive Committee.

5. At least four weeks notice of Executive Committee meetings shall normally be given to the membership, and suggestions for Agenda items invited.

6. Minutes of Executive Committee meetings shall be posed on the IGALA website.

7. The Executive Committee shall appoint an Organiser to head a Committee to organize the official conference for the Association. The Organiser from the previous conference shall also serve on the Committee. The Executive Committee shall be available for consultation for the conference, and at least one member of the Executive Committee shall serve on the Conference Committee and act as a liaison.

ARTICLE VIII. Advisory Council

1. The Advisory Council shall consist of 5-8 Elected Members, elected by a majority of the voting Association Membership. These Members should represent as broad a geographic spectrum as possible (in particular, non-English-dominant countries), considering the geographic spectrum already represented by the IGALA Executive Committee Officers. One Advisory Council Member shall be a Graduate Student Representative. The other members should be able to represent key areas of gender and languager research, in particular language and sexuality, but also, together, a range of research priorities. They should also represent a range of countries with a range of dominant (and minority) languages. In general, they shall represent the diverse interests of the Membership of the Association to the Executive Committee in matters of policy.

2. The Advisory Council Members shall be part of the IGALA Executive Committee and shall (where possible) attend all Committee meetings. Additional meetings of the Advisory Council may be organized to conduct ongoing business.

3. The terms of office of all Advisory Council Members shall be three years, following the election.

ARTICLE X. Conferences and Meetings

1. The Society shall hold an official Conference at least biennially.

2. A Business Meeting open to all Association members in good standing will be held at each official Conference, with the time and place for that meeting to be announced to all members in a timely fashion. An Executive Meeting, including Advisory Members, will also be held at the Conference, prior to this.

3. Special meetings may be called by the Executive Committee of the Association or upon written request of five (5) percent of the Members.

4. IGALA may co-host Conferences and meetings with other organisations with the agreement of the Executive.

ARTICLE XI. 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 Committee of the Association shall constitute a quorum for transacting business.

3. The business of the Association shall be transacted by majority vote unless otherwise provided in these Bylaws.

ARTICLE XII. Nominations and Elections

1. Candidates for any elective office may be nominated by any Member. The President-elect will chair the Nominations Committee. The Secretary will also be on the Committee. A nomination becomes effective only upon the nominated Member's filing with the Secretary a statement of willingness and ability to devote such time to the affairs of the Association as necessary to the effective execution of office. There shall be at least four weeks from the announcement of the call for nominations to announcement of the slate of candidates.

2. The Executive Committee shall ensure that at least one candidate is nominated for each office and shall announce the slate of nominees to the membership. At least four weeks shall be allowed from the announcement of the slate of candidates for the return of ballots.

ARTICLE XIII. Balloting

1. All paid-up Members in good standing shall be entitled to cast one ballot in any election or referendum.

2. Ballots will be submitted electronically to the Secretary not later than the stated return date to be counted, and counted secretly.

3. The candidate receiving the most votes for a contested office shall be elected; the Executive Committee of the Association shall hold a run-off election within four weeks to resolve any ties.

4. The successful and unsuccessful candidates will be notified prior to announcement of the results on the GALA-L List. Actual numbers of votes will not be announced but the Secretary will maintain proper records.

ARTICLE XIV. Referenda

1. A referendum may be conducted by mail ballot at any time upon initiation of the Executive Committee of the Association, 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 XV. Finances

1. The income from annual dues will be held securely by Equinox publishers, until such time as the Executive decides they should be released. Income from investments and other sources shall also constitute a working fund. Both these monies are available for operating, publication, modest support for members with limited financial resources (in particular, in the form of Bursaries to attend the official biennial Conference) and current expenses consistent with the purposes of the Association.

2. No financial obligation in excess of funds available in the treasury shall be assumed by the Executive Committee of the Association or any officer on behalf of the Association except that for the purpose of this section, estimated receipts from annual dues and other accounts receivable for the current year may be considered as available.

ARTICLE XVI. Amendments

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 Committee of the Society or by five (5) percent of the Members in good standing. The Executive Committee shall have the proposed amendment circulated to the Members and it shall allow four weeks 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.