Articles of Association

Constitution 

1.Name of the Association 

The name of the Association shall be the Contemporary Women’s Writing Association (acronym: CWWA). 


2. Aims / Objects of the Association

The object of the Contemporary Women’s Writing Association shall be the advancement and spreading of knowledge by the promotion of the study of contemporary women’s writing, where ‘women’ refers to all who identify as women. In furtherance of the said object but not otherwise the Association may: 

2.1 collect and disseminate information on all matters affecting the said object and exchange such information with other bodies having similar objects whether in this country or overseas; 

2.2  cause to be written and printed or otherwise reproduced and circulated, free of charge or otherwise, such papers, books, periodicals, pamphlets, digital documents, or other documents as shall further the said objects; 

2.3  raise funds and invite and receive contributions from any person or persons whatsoever by way of subscriptions and otherwise PROVIDED THAT the Association shall not undertake permanent trading activities in raising funds for the said objects; 

2.4  do all such other lawful things as are necessary in the pursuance of the said objects; 

2.5 organize or support the organization of conferences in the field. 

The Association is non-political. With the agreement of the Executive Committee, the Association may have affiliations with international representatives or groups. The Executive Committee of the Association shall normally meet within the U.K. or online. 


3. Membership

3.1 Membership of the Association shall be open to all persons, aged 18 and over, of any nationality, interested in the aims of the Association. 

3.2 There shall be three categories of members: regular members, honorary members, and concessionary members (students and unwaged). 

3.3 Honorary membership may be conferred by the Annual General Meeting upon recommendation from the Executive Committee. 

3.4 Regular members are those who pay the annual subscription fee (see 4). 

3.5 Students engaged in research and living on grants and those not in receipt of a wage upon proof of their status may join as concessionary members. 

3.6 Membership may be terminated: 

3.6.1 by members giving notice in writing to the Membership Secretary, 

3.6.2 at the discretion of the Executive Committee, if the member subscription remains unpaid for 3 months after it is due, and the member has been sent a written warning by the Membership Secretary. 

3.7 Affiliated membership 

Affiliated membership will be open to any organization interested in the aims of the Association, and complying with its constitution. 

3.8 CWWA Chapters are bound by the CWWA Articles of Association. CWWA Chapters work to the advancement and spreading of knowledge by the promotion of the study of contemporary women’s writing, where ‘women’ refers to all who identify as women, in specific locations outside of the UK. 

3.8.1 CWWA Chapters may be established with the agreement of the Executive Committee. Members of Chapters will hold CWWA membership through the annual subscription process. A differential membership rate may apply as per Article 4.3. 

3.8.2 CWWA Chapters will appoint their own Chair and Secretary who will serve on the Executive Committee.  

4. Subscriptions

4.1 All types of membership are conditional on payment of the annual subscription (where this applies). Membership runs from January 1st to December 31st. Renewal fees will be due on January 1st 

4.2 The annual subscription rates to the Association shall be determined by the Executive Committee, subject to approval by the Annual General Meeting of the Association. 

4.3 To be as inclusive as possible, the Association reserves the right to set a differential membership rate in the form of membership subsidies. Applications for membership subsidies are to be administered by the Membership Secretary, in consultation with the Executive Committee.

5. Officers

5.1 The Association has the following officers: a Chair; a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Publicity & Social Media Officer, a Website Officer, a Conference Officer and a Membership Secretary. One of these, by agreement within the Executive Committee, could also act as Vice-Chair for the CWWA, normally for the term of her/his office and concurrently with it. 

5.2 The officers shall be elected by the Annual General Meeting for a three-year term of office, staggered to ensure that the terms of all the officers do not conclude at the same time. 

5.3 All officers, including the Chair, shall be eligible for re-election, once only, at the conclusion of their first term. No officer, including the Chair, shall be eligible for re-election after they have served a second term of office in a given role. 

5.4 Should any elected officer of the Association cease to fulfil their duties efficiently or effectively, the Executive Committee by majority consent is empowered to request the officer’s resignation, and to co-opt a replacement who will serve until the next AGM, at which time the office will be open to election.

6. Executive Committee

6.1 The Executive Committee consists of the officers (see 5.1), the Chair of the original CWWN (Contemporary Women’s Writing Network), the immediate past Chair (ex officio), the co-editors of the CWW journal (ex officio), approximately five ordinary elected members, the Chair and Secretary of any active CWWA Chapter, and two PGR/ECR representatives. 

6.2 The ordinary elected members shall be elected for a three-year term, so arranged that at least one of them shall retire each year. Committee members elected to replace a member retiring before the end of their term shall be elected to serve for the remainder of the term. Ordinary elected members may not be re-elected more than one additional term upon completion of their first term of office. 

6.3 The student members shall be elected for a three-year term and arranged so that the terms do not conclude at the same time. Student representatives may not be re-elected more than one additional term upon completion of their term of office. 

6.4 The election of Executive Committee members shall take place ahead of the Annual General Meeting at which election results will be announced. 

6.5 In addition to the members listed in 6.1, the Executive is able to create new officer roles. New roles will be created and agreed by the Executive. Further, the Executive Committee shall have the power to co-opt up to five additional members at their discretion. Co-opted roles will be for a specified purpose, and the Executive Committee will determine the duration of the co-opted role. 

6.6 The Chair shall be required to call a meeting of the Executive Committee at the request of any three members of the Executive Committee. A meeting shall be quorate when at least six members of the Committee are present. The Executive Committee shall have the power to create and dissolve sub-committees as required. 

6.7 The Executive Committee may, from time to time and as it deems necessary, establish sub-committees of the Executive Committee, to deal with specific issues or attend to particular tasks, agreed with the Executive Committee, and in line with CWWA policies. 

7. Annual General Meeting of the Association

7.1 The Association shall hold an Annual General Meeting, not later than 15 months after its constitution. 

7.2 Other General Meetings may be called at other times, with not less than one month’s written notice to all members, by the Executive Committee or by the Chair at the request of not less than 20% of the members. 

7.3 Every member has one vote. The Chair has a casting vote. 

7.4 A meeting shall be quorate when at least ten members of the Association are present. This can include members of the Executive Committee. 

8. Elections

8.1 Any member may stand for election. 

8.2 Officers and members of the Executive Committee shall be members of the Association. They are elected to the Executive Committee via an online ballot, except were appointments are uncontested, and results are announced at the Annual General Meeting 

8.3 The Executive Committee may receive and propose nominations of candidates for election after not less than three weeks’ written notice to all members. 

8.4 Appointments to posts of Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary, Publicity & Social Media Officer, Website Officer, Conference Officer, Ordinary Members, and Student Representatives are made by the Executive Committee and ratified by the membership at the subsequent AGM. 

8.5 Where only one nomination is made for a post, no election is required.  

8.6 Where a CWWA Chapter exists, a Chair and Secretary will be elected by its own sub-membership in accordance with the Articles stipulated above.
 

9. Money and property

9.1 Money and property must only be used for the Association’s purposes. 

9.2 The Executive Committee, through the Treasurer, must keep accounts.  The most recent annual accounts can be seen by anybody on request. Accounts must be presented annually to the Annual General Meeting. 

9.3 Executive Committee members cannot receive any money or property from the Association, except to refund reasonable out of pocket expenses, such as travel costs where the executive committee member’s institution cannot fund their travel (as per the Executive Committee Expenses Policy). 

9.4 Money must be held in the Association’s bank account. The Treasurer will be the authorizing signatory on all cheques.  


10. Amendments to the Constitution

10.1 The General Meeting of the Association may amend the Constitution by a majority of two thirds of the members present and simple majority voting, provided that a quorum of ten members be present, and that written notice of the amendment proposed has been given to all members not less than one month before the General Meeting. 


11. Dissolution

11.1 The Association may be dissolved by the agreement of not less than three quarters of those members present at a General Meeting specially summoned for this purpose above. 

11.2 Any funds existing at the time of dissolution shall not become the property of any member or members but shall be devoted to furthering the aims/objectives of the Association defined in Clause 2.1. 

 

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