Since January 2022, the esteemed Society of Woman Geographers (SWG) has been experiencing a crisis of care. The situation is so alarming that one wonders if the SWG has become analogous to an important women's support center that publicly does good work, yet privately abuses its members and colleagues.

PUBLIC SERVICE AND PRIVATE ABUSE

The SWG is an historic global association of women explorers of ideas as well as geography. This esteemed 501c3 nonprofit, incorporated in Washington, D.C., aims to do important work supporting women. Currently, we believe that the self-appointed non-compliant board is not remaining true to the SWG’s charitable mission as evidenced by a pattern of engaging in illegal financial, governance, as well as abusive and defamatory behavior.  

Almost 100 years old, with a membership of about 400 members, the SWG membership has included Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, Margaret Mead, and Jane Goodall, among others. As part of its mission to support women, the SWG awards scholarships to geography scholars. SWG's finances include assets of $5.6 million as well as real estate of its headquarters, an historic townhouse with a commercial ground floor and—until recently—two rental units above, in Washington, D.C.

Unfortunately, during the past almost two years, cruelty, abuse, destruction, and unquestioned power seem to have become the operating dynamics.

MASS RESIGNATIONS

Between November 2022 and May 2023, nine highly competent, highly awarded, successful women—perhaps they could even be called super-achievers—resigned from the SWG board. Among them is a member who has nine Fulbright awards, a record number. Together, they have received numerous professorships and prestigious awards for work around the globe. Additionally, in early October 2023, a 10th board member resigned. What does it say about the toxicity of a part of the SWG culture that not one or two, but ten out of thirteen resigned? For so many to resign in such a short time is an alarming sign that something is very wrong.

BULLYING, HARASSMENT AND A TOXIC ENVIRONMENT

According to the first nine who resigned as well as others, the environment the past 22 months has been intensely toxic with initially one person harassing and bullying several individuals on the board and staff for almost a year. The following information will be backed up by the eight members on the 2022 Board who resigned. Eventually, with the support of three board members, the bully took over the organization. When the remaining three board members ousted her, instead of returning the SWG to its ethical path, they continued the bully’s tactics of secrecy, financial and governance malfeasance, and abusive treatment of members and staff.

During 2022, when mediation was requested, everyone—except the bully—agreed to it. As mediators who were called would not meet without the bully, finding a solution through mediation was a dead end. What was needed was an ombudsperson, or mandated mediation. But there was no mechanism to make this happen.

In hindsight, the initial board members who resigned now agree that they should not have done so. To be fair, they had no training, no expectations, and no resources to deal with such an intensely toxic situation—and calls for help were not heeded. 

It is noteworthy that the 2022 President and President-elect who resigned in late November, 2022, were told by a board member who participated in and supported the take-over of the organization by the bully that the Executive Director (ED) would not be fired. Yet, two weeks later, she was. The nine board members—who treat people honorably and in good faith, and likewise expect to be treated honorably and in good faith—expected that normal processes would be followed. They were misled.  

DECEMBER 12, 2022

Normally, the ED would have held the election for new officers before the end of the year, followed by sending out requests for dues to be paid. Due to the resignations of the President and President-Elect, the bully, as Secretary, automatically assumed the responsibilities—but not the position—of President. Her first act was to fire the ED abruptly at a hastily called meeting on December, 12, 2022. As this action made the ED’s salary for 2023 moot, it effectively gave the new small board access to it. Terminating the ED also terminated the upcoming election. That night, four board members also voted themselves into new positions, including voting the bully into the position of President. Two weeks later, one of them resigned.

In mid-January, 2023, the new self-appointed non-compliant board voted to allow the bully (who had become a member as a student and never had a career!) to pay herself a shocking and totally inappropriate $110 an hour. In the first quarter of 2023, she was paid approximately $24,000. In February, 2023, the then four board members, who were also in volunteer positions, approved a “company” credit card with a $10,000 limit for themselves. The bills were paid automatically by SWG’s account at PNC Bank. To abruptly fire a longtime employee in order to benefit financially is egregious.

ABRUPT TERMINATION AND FALSE ACCUSATIONS OF EMBEZZLEMENT

On December, 12, 2022, the bully abruptly terminated the long-time Executive Director—who had recently undergone cancer treatment and who had just earned a satisfactory performance rating—with no cause, no notice, and no severance pay. More than 10 months later, her personal belongings from her office still have not been returned as requested.

IF, and this is a big if, the ED had been involved in financial misdeeds or crimes, why was this not stated as the reason at the time she was fired, and evidence produced? Why did two months pass after the firing, before allegations of financial impropriety emerged privately? It is interesting that the bully's public accusations that the ED had embezzled $200,000 came after Concerned SWG Members’ letters to the membership revealed the bully was paying herself $110 an hour, and that she had had no professional career. If the bully and her enablers believed that the ED had embezzled money, the appropriate response would have been to immediately hire a forensic investigator, not continue to make destructive accusations with no evidence. SWG member, CPA, and experienced financial investigator, Terry Hall reviewed SWG historical financial data from 2015-2022 and found no financial malfeasance by the ED.

The ED essentially performed two jobs. As Executive Director, she ran or oversaw all aspects of the SWG’s functioning. She also managed the SWG's real estate, including maintaining the Headquarters' 100-year-old row house in Washington, D.C., and its two rental properties in the building. Although she was simultaneously coping with cancer and chemo treatments, she did not take time off, but continued to work. Why was she not thanked for her work? If areas for improvement had emerged during the evaluation process, why were these not discussed and steps taken to facilitate improvement?  

FEMALE SIBLING RIVALRY AS SOURCE OF THE DYSFUNCTION

A former psychotherapist and longtime SWG member has a theory that some members resented the fact that, in January 2014, when the ED began work as SWG’s new Executive Director, she was the first full-time staff person paid by SWG—and that she was paid in-line with (instead of below) what other professionals in her field were paid. For the previous 89 years of its existence, the SWG had been run by all volunteers, and an occasional part-time person. In the 21st century, it became clear that there was too much work for the organization to be run that way—and that none of the members, who may have been qualified in others areas, were qualified to run a non-profit, even if they had been available and willing.

Hiring a fulltime ED was a huge change. The ED received a decent salary complete with benefits and cost of living increases, in other words, she was paid what she was worth.

Unfortunately, some members, especially in one geographical group, were resistant to and resentful of the ED’s assignment to make changes, per her job description. The negativity toward the ED festered for nine years, yet each year the organization ran smoothly and the ED received Satisfactory or above performance ratings at her annual evaluations. In fact, although three part-time staff have replaced the ED, and the bully and her lawyer were paid shocking sums of money, little has been accomplished and much destruction wrought. It has taken ten months to hold an election. Former camaraderie and trust, as well as many long-term business relationships, and normal procedures and services have been disrupted or destroyed. It is revealing that a member who participated in the firing of the ED and voted for and enabled the bully the past 10 months, described the events of December 12 as their “January 6 moment.”

More than one member concurs that the negativity toward the ED originated from jealousy and resentment that she was paid a healthy salary in a situation where everyone else, except a part-time office person, was a volunteer. It is believed that the dysfunctional behavioral syndrome of "female sibling rivalry" set the stage for the current crisis where financial and governance malfeasance—and abuse of members, staff, and cohorts—became overt and prevalent. "Female sibling rivalry" is characterized by competition, conflict, jealously, and viewing other women as the enemy and undermining them. It can lead to a breakdown in healthy relationships. Indeed, how vicious is it when one member described the ED’s abrupt termination as “exciting”? It is further believed that if members had pushed back against the maliciousness and called their colleagues on it, a resentful clique would not have successfully escalated the situation by bonding with each other via their shared spite.

CURRENT ELECTION

This article focuses on the emotions that are the source of this current crisis. The convoluted and complex financial and governance malfeasance has been delineated in numerous letters from the Concerned SWG Members group. The list of malfeasance is too lengthy to be described in this article. Note that the current election—held ten months late in October of 2023, and slated to elect board members through 2024—extends the abusive power dynamic by being nondemocratic, nontransparent, and not meeting international governance policies for elections, due to:

• its unified slate—members are not able to vote for nominees individually;
• four out of eight nominees have a serious conflict of interest by having been on the board that enabled the bully and promoted her malfeasance and/or also being on the Nominating Committee;
• one member who is on the current board and also on the Nominating Committee is a nominee on the ballot despite being specifically prohibited by the bylaws to serve at this time, as she has already served four consecutive years on the board;
• names of the Nominating Committee and the nominees were all kept secret from the membership;  
• the ballot has no bios of nominees;
• no write-in votes are allowed, even though the software program being used offers the ability for write-ins; and the election gives the new board the ability to appoint additional members and officers through 2024—in lieu of electing them.  

THE FUTURE OF THE SWG

For the SWG to survive and thrive, it will need to create resources, networks, and systems so that when conflictual situations arise in the future and people ask for assistance, they get it.

For example:

• A Code of Ethics that clarifies and requires respectful treatment of members, staff, and cohorts needs to be created. 
• SWG bylaws need to be updated in consultation with a law firm that specializes in nonprofits, and in helping them implement, maintain, update, and comply with relevant nonprofit bylaws.
• Truth and Reconciliation Panel needs to be established so that the truth about the former ED and particular former and current board members is discovered, justice served, and reconciliation reached. 

Only when the SWG takes up these challenges to return to its ethical path of providing support for women and creating a conscious private and public culture of care for its members, staff, and business and academic partner institutions, will it thrive.