Call for New Board Members 2026

Dear ATGENDER friends,

ATGENDER is delighted to share the Call for Candidacy for New ATGENDER Board Members.

We are looking for 4 enthusiastic new board members to join the ATGENDER Board from September 2026. 

Board members serve for a three-year term (which can be extended for one additional term). 

What does being an ATGENDER board member involve?

• All candidates should be able to devote time to regular organisational matters that contribute to strengthening the ATGENDER mission. Candidates should be able to attend and contribute to board meetings (approximately every 4-6 weeks), and dedicate time between board meetings to working group activities.
• Each member of the Board serves in several working groups that are responsible for particular tasks, such as membership, ATGENDER’s book series, early career, communication, conferences, webinars, etc. 
• Alongside our Working Groups, ATGENDER has several formal roles: Chair(s), Secretary and Treasurer. These roles usually rotate between board members.
• The range of ATGENDER’s work means that board members can be involved in tasks and activities that align with their interests and expertise, such as organising online seminars, Early Career Researchers mentoring sessions, reading groups, and postgraduate prizes. However, ATGENDER also involves a considerable amount of administrative, organisational and budgeting work. Good communication skills are also an asset as board members are furthermore responsible for updating the website and social media accounts, and drafting flyers and posters for events. When writing your application, please consider what practical skills and experience you have that you could contribute to ATGENDER’s work.
• We particularly welcome candidates who have experience of, and would be interested in, being a treasurer or co-treasurer. Our current treasurer is stepping down from the Board, and we therefore need board members with budgeting skills and experience to step into the role. The treasurer and co-treasurer position does not entail a huge amount of work, but it is a consistent responsibility (make payments and refunds, monitor financial activities and budget). For the purpose of registering with the bank, the treasurer candidate must reside in the EU. Our current treasurer will provide a handover for the role and be available for advice – you’ll have support learning how the role and ATGENDER’s budget works!

What work does ATGENDER do?

As a Board Member, you will have significant freedom to shape the focus and scope of ATGENDER’s activities. We are especially keen to continue previous efforts to de-centre Western European perspectives/locales in ATGENDER activities. Recently, this has included an emphasis on critical race, anti- and decolonial scholarship and scholarship from the global South(s) (see previous events on decolonising feminist publishing here and speakers/panels at our past conferences), and events for Early Career members on navigating academic careers and funding (see recent events here). Additionally, we are interested in opening up further to scholars who are experts of disability studies and/or have experience in creating more inclusive practices and settings.  We are therefore looking for enthusiastic and creative candidates with administrative and/or practical skills who can work collegially with other Board members to actively contribute to, and build upon, ATGENDER’s efforts to broaden the scope of our scholarly activities and membership.

Additionally, as our period of reflection and reorganisation comes to an end, the current board is excited to move into a new phase of activity and implementation. Over the coming year, we will resume the organisation of our bi-annual conference, while also developing a longer-term strategy for hosting future conferences across Europe, with a particular focus on underrepresented and overlooked centres of progressive and liberatory scholarship and practice.

At the same time, we will continue to strengthen and expand ATGENDER’s activities in response to the current political, social, and ecological contexts. This includes building a more sustained and evenly distributed programme of events throughout the year, designed to foster ongoing engagement within our community besides nurturing relationships with ATGENDER´s partners and members (institutional and individuals).

We are also committed to expanding our publishing activities, including contributions to our growing series with Bloomsbury Publishing, with an emphasis on including activist and practice-based work alongside academic research. In parallel, we will continue to internationalise ATGENDER by deepening our engagement with anti-colonial, decolonial, and anti-imperial perspectives.

Finally, we will further develop our digital infrastructure, including the redesign of our website as a dynamic archive of ATGENDER’s work and a platform for resources, collaboration, and community engagement. Look out for this space as the new website might include a blog!

Why be an ATGENDER board member?

ATGENDER is sustained through the collective voluntary efforts and work of its members. Serving on the Board is an opportunity to learn, grow and connect with an international, intergenerational network of like-minded colleagues (scholars, activists, artists, and practitioners). Furthermore, it affords the opportunity to contribute to the development of Gender Studies and queer and trans* feminist knowledge production. Through its conferences, publications, mentoring initiatives, webinars, prizes, and community-building activities, ATGENDER helps create spaces for critical dialogue, collaboration, and solidarity. Board members play an important role in shaping these activities and ensuring that feminist, anti-racist, decolonial, queer, and transnational perspectives continue to thrive within and beyond academia. The position thus requires consistent commitment and a strong predisposition to collegial decision making and collaborative work. The workload becomes significant especially when working closely with partners to organise conferences.

How do I apply?

If you are an ATGENDER member (whether as part of an institution or as an individual), are willing to actively contribute to fulfilling ATGENDER’s mission and shaping the organisation’s future by working collectively and collegially, please send a short motivation letter (2500 characters max.) and a short CV to info@atgender.eu. The deadline to submit candidacy materials is: Friday 4th September 2026, 11.59pm. All candidates must be current members of ATGENDER.

You can find more details about the role of board members and the nomination procedure both in our statutes and in the bylaws of ATGENDER. If you have any questions about what is expected from Members of the Board and/or need further clarification, for instance on how to combine the position of Board Member with a precarious working situation, please don’t hesitate to contact the ATGENDER office (atgender.eu@gmail.com). Current board members are happy to answer any questions or to discuss further the role of board members – you can find their details here.

The election of new board members will take place online at the ATGENDER General Assembly on 11th of September 2026 at 3:00 CET/ 2:00 BST. The candidate must be present in order to be elected.

We look forward to your interest.

On behalf of ATGENDER

The Election Committee