APA Statement on Nondiscrimination

The following statement was prepared by an ad hoc Committee comprised of Leslie Francis, Marilyn Frye, and Martha Nussbaum, and approved by the Board of Officers at its 1990 Meeting.

UPDATE- At the 1998 Meeting of the Board of Officers, the APA Non-Discrimination Statement was modified, on the initiative of the Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People in the Profession, to include "gender identification" among the characteristics on the basis of which discrimination is rejected as unethical.

Last updated at the 2009 Board of Officers meeting.

The American Philosophical Association rejects as unethical all forms of discrimination based on race, color, religion, political convictions, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identification or age, whether in graduate admissions, appointments, retention, promotion and tenure, manuscript evaluation, salary determination, or other professional activities in which APA members characteristically participate. This includes both discrimination on the basis of status and discrimination on the basis of conduct integrally connected to that status, where “integrally connected” means (a) the conduct is a normal and predictable expression of the status (e.g., sexual conduct expressive of a sexual orientation), or (b) the conduct is something that only a person with that status could engage in (e.g., pregnancy), or (c) the proscription of that conduct is historically and routinely connected with invidious discrimination against the status (e.g., interracial marriage) . At the same time, the APA recognizes the special commitments and roles of institutions with a religious affiliation; and it is not inconsistent with the APA's position against discrimination to adopt religious affiliation as a criterion in graduate admissions or employment policies when this is directly related to the school's religious affiliation or purpose, so long as these policies are made known to members of the philosophical community and so long as the criteria for such religious affiliation do not discriminate against persons according to the other attributes listed in this statement. Advertisers in Jobs for Philosophers are expected to comply with this fundamental commitment of the APA, which is not to be taken to preclude explicitly stated affirmative action initiatives.

Institutions that advertise in the JFP will be asked to indicate whether they comply with the APA Nondiscrimination Statement, and ads from those institutions that will not comply will be flagged. Any advertisement in the JFP sponsored by an institution that upon full investigation is found not to be in compliance with the APA Antidiscrimination statement shall be so labeled.

The APA Board of Officers expects that all those who use the APA Placement Service will comply with the letter and spirit of all applicable regulations concerning non-discrimination, equal employment opportunity and affirmative action.

Originally published in Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association, Vol. 64, No. 5, p. 11, and published in every issue of Jobs for Philosophers.