The Association for Women in Slavic Studies is dedicated to the promotion of research and teaching in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian women's, gender, and sexuality studies, and to the support of scholars who identify as women or LGBTQIA. Committed to the study of this region across disciplines, AWSS welcomes members from the humanities and social sciences. AWSS serves as a networking resource for all scholars and teachers concerned with the problems, status, and achievements of women and sexual minorities in academic and related professions.

Through research, scholarly dialogue, and the diffusion of findings, the Association also seeks to improve the general public's understanding about women, gender, and sexuality. We are committed to challenging sexist, homophobic, transphobic, racist, classist, ableist, and ageist structures that reproduce injustice. Any advocacy is undertaken at the discretion of the Board.

In addition to its annual award competitions for outstanding publications and scholarly contributions in the field of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian women's, gender, and sexuality studies, AWSS supports graduate student research and provides small travel grants to conferences for scholars from the region.

Membership benefits include a subscription to the AWSS newsletter, Women East-West, and to the AWSS listserv, AWSS-L, which provides regular updates about publications, conferences, funding, jobs, and other important professional opportunities.

AWSS is affiliated with the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES).