ASA Trustees Adopt Additional Policies on Discrimination

At its meeting February 14, 2022, the Board of Trustees of the American Society for Aesthetics unanimously adopted several policies recommended by the ASA Committee on Discrimination, Harassment, and Respectful Behaviors.

Guidelines for Session Chairs at ASA Meetings

Several recommendations have been adopted to enhance fairness in participation by panelists and audience members. The complete policy is here: https://aesthetics-online.org/resource/resmgr/files/Recommendations_for_session_.pdf

Amendment to ASA Policies: Nonnative English speakers

The ASA Policies on Discrimination, Harassment, and Respectful Behaviors are amended to acknowledge structural barriers for nonnative English speakers, as follows:

Generally prohibited conduct: Remarks that reinforce damaging social structures of domination (e.g., related to an individual’s sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, physical appearance, class, disability, race, ethnicity, religion, national identity, employment status, linguistic style, fluency or accent, or other legally protected characteristics.
https://aesthetics-online.org/resource/resmgr/files/ASA_policies_on_discriminati.pdf

Recommendations for Forms of Address

The Trustees adopted the following recommendations:

1. Explore inclusion of preferred pronouns on the program (on an optional basis).
2. Explore the availability of pronoun stickers that are larger and in different colors.
3. Explore additional distribution of Ley Cray's article "Minimizing Misgendering" from the ASA Newsletter, such as inclusion of the link to the article on the meetings pages for ASA meetings.
4. Remind Chairs to be aware of and respect participants' preferred pronouns.