The Publishers Compact
AUPresses is a signatory to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Publishers Compact. The UN SDGs were adopted in 2015 by all Member States, “a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere.” Launched in 2020 in cooperation with the International Publishers Association, of which AUPresses is an associate member, the Publishers Compact aims to accelerate progress towards these goals through broad industry action.
Read more about the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals
Our Work
Committing to the SDG Publishers Compact is in harmony with the core values of the Association, and our commitments to equity, anti-racism, and justice. Please visit this page frequently to learn how we are shaping our work to advance individual goals.
SDG 17: Partnerships For The Goals
As a global association of nonprofit scholarly publishers, AUPresses will leverage our member communication channels and collaboration hub, UP Commons, to share information about the Goals and the Publishers Compact, and provide a space for community networking and common action towards sustainable action.
Individuals interested in the SDGs who work at member presses, whether or not their press has signed the Publishers Compact, should join the Sustainable Development Goals Group on UP Commons.
SDG 5: Gender Equality
Gender Pay Gap: University presses have historically had better gender representation within leadership ranks than many commercial publishing sectors: in 2021, approximately 45% of press directors were women. However, at the urging of a Gender Equity & Cultures of Respect Task Force, the Association commissioned a 2018 and 2020 gender parity assessment of compensation data across North American members, which indicated that a pay gap remains across employment levels. The Board of Directors has committed to continuing this data analysis, and encourages directors to use the data to advocate for staff members within larger academic institutions.
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
In 2020, the Association issued a statement of commitment to Anti-Racism and Equity. The Equity, Justice, and Inclusion Committee holds this statement as the foundation of the work they pursue, which includes developing and sharing resources for approaching publishing work from an equity standpoint, piloting a data tool for university presses to track the demographics of their author and reviewer networks, and hosting activation sessions where press directors can share and learn from each other in order to embed equity work throughout the publishing process. The AUPresses Open Access Committee also is charged to keep both the Equity and Anti-Racism Statement and the AUPresses Statement on Open Access, which enjoins our community to “look to the diversity of voices who are able to take part in the scholarly conversation as well as to the diversity of readers reached by any dissemination platform,” central to their work on both a local and global scale.
Our Community
We are honored to join a growing list of publishing houses, associations, and service providers around the world who have committed to the SDG Publishers Compact. These include AUPresses members and Partners. We invite other organizational members of our community to read and sign the compact.
AUPresses Member Signatories
University of the West Indies Press
AUPresses Partner Signatories
Program Contact
Member presses, Partners, and other members of our larger community who wish to learn more about the AUPresses commitment to the SDGs, or to share information about your own efforts, please contact Research & Communications Director Brenna McLaughlin.