For Immediate Release:

Tuesday, April 4, 2023

IStock Photo by Bulat Silvia
Last year’s Supreme Court ruling that repealed Roe v. Wade, leading to some states legislating restrictive access to reproductive rights, are considered discriminatory practices to a growing number of professional associations.
Some associations and meeting organizers are reevaluating their site-selection requirements for future meetings as well as how to mitigate fall-out from members as they move forward with meetings at destinations previously contracted.
Resources for Decision-Making
These resources provide information to help your organization consider alternatives for your response to concerns brought forward by your membership.

• The Center for Reproductive Rights offers a U.S. map by state that one can filter by abortion laws.
• SocialOffset provides an innovative, and more productive, alternative to boycotting a destination.
• Northstar Meetings Group published a thorough round-up of issues related to site selection and the effectiveness of boycotts, “How the Events Industry is Responding to State Abortion Bans”

Communication Examples to Members for Meetings Already Booked
One of the most important measures an association can take is to offer explanations about how the process for site selection works by communicating with members for meetings booked at destinations many years ago. Here is a sampling of letters societies have published since last June:

• A letter from the President of the American Association of Hematology before its annual meeting in New Orleans.
• A letter posted on the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association before its annual meeting in New Orleans.
• A letter posted by the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics before its annual meeting in Salt Lake City.

Site-Selection Policies
Some associations have elected to post site-selection policies on the organization website. Here are a couple of examples:

• The American Epilepsy Society Posts its site-selection policies and how they align with their values.
• The Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference posts its Location Policy on its website and how they align with their statement of values.

What has your organization done to respond to meeting locations and anti-discrimination concerns from your members?
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