Council Affirms by Unanimous Consent Inclusion of Pronoun Options on Meeting Badges


April 2018

AERA Council affirmed by unanimous consent a recommendation by Executive Director Felice J. Levine to add an option to include pronouns on AERA Annual Meeting badges. The 2017—2018 Council held a final brief meeting on April 13, 2018—the first day of the AERA Annual Meeting in New York. The issue was initially a discussion topic at the February meeting of Council, which considered both a pronoun option and the broader question of inclusivity and welcoming environments.

The request to include a pronoun option came to the Association from the Queer Studies SIG and the Critical Educators for Social Justice SIG, both of which raised the topic in the months preceding the February meeting.

A background paper on the topic and related association practices was prepared by Nathan Bell, past AERA associate director for education research and research policy; Levine and Bell recommended adoption of the badge change. The unanimous resolution of consent by Council signaled the commitment of both elected and staff leadership to affirmative steps that will allow meeting attendees to identify themselves as they wish. The change will go into effect with the 2019 Annual Meeting in Toronto, April 5–9, 2019.