Ten Scholarly Communications Industry Associations Collaborate on D&I Initiative
The Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications has released a Joint Statement of Principles to demonstrate the commitment of participating organizations to promoting involvement, innovation, and expanded access to leadership opportunities that maximize engagement across identity groups and professional levels. The Joint Statement of Principles can be viewed at c4disc.org.
The Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications (C4DISC) is currently comprised of ten trade and professional associations that represent organizations and individuals working in scholarly communications. These organizations include the Association of University Presses, Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers, Canadian Association of Learned Journals, Council of Science Editors, International Society of Managing and Technical Editors, Library Publishing Coalition, NASIG, Open Access, Scholarly Publishers Association, and the Society for Scholarly Publishing.
The Coalition was formed in June 2017 to discuss and address the issues of diversity and inclusion within our industry. In principle and in practice, collectively, these organizations value and seek diversity and inclusive practices within the scholarly communications ecosystem.
A number of surveys in recent years have shed light on the lack of diversity in scholarly communications as whole. Whether it is gender equality or the noticeable lack of ethnic diversity among our workforce, there is an awareness that, as an industry, we are not a model of inclusivity. Publishing is truly a global enterprise, yet in many respects, our workforce is very homogeneous and that is reflected in our own collective member demographics.
Representatives from these organizations met in Boston, MA, at the Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP) Annual Meeting in June 2017, to discuss challenges and current initiatives in progress to address the lack of diversity and inclusion within the industry. We agreed to continue discussions and collaborate on possible projects starting with a Joint Statement of Principles.
“Working collectively, we can combine resources and have a greater impact, said Melanie Dolechek, SSP Executive Director. “Due to the overlap in our memberships, it makes sense to collaborate on this initiative.”
The Coalition invites other organizations and companies to adopt the Joint Statement of Principles to show their support for and commitment to improving diversity and inclusion in scholarly communications. Organizations of any type can register their adoption of the Principles on the Coalition’s website.
The Coalition is currently evaluating proposals for international market research into diversity and inclusion in scholarly publishing, via a survey that will be repeated every three years for up to 10 years. The study will serve as a benchmark or a baseline measure for progress. The survey will included all types of publishers—for-profit, not-profit, government, library, university, etc.—as well as publishing services suppliers.
C4DISC would like to thank Yael Fitzpatrick, Consulting Art Director and Brand Manager of Gazelle Design Consultancy, for developing the C4DISC logo.
Organizations interesting in joining the Coalition and participating in the future development of resources and outreach should contact Melanie Dolechek, SSP Executive Director.
For more information, contact:
Melanie Dolechek
SSP Executive Director
mdolechek@sspnet.org or c4disc@gmail.com