Improving diversity with data: dual announcement
Today we launch our first biennial diversity data report, alongside a new process for self-reporting gender data in our publishing system.
Collecting and understanding data is key to improving diversity in 乐天堂app下载 chemical sciences – as is transparency. This is why our Diversity data report 2020 examines diversity across 乐天堂app下载 breadth of our own organisational activity – from membership and education to publishing, grants and governance.
乐天堂app下载 decision to publish this report marks a milestone in our reinvigorated inclusion and diversity strategy, 乐天堂app下载 foundations of which we laid in 2018 when our report Diversity landscape of 乐天堂app下载 chemical sciences stated our ambition that “chemistry should be for everyone.”
We will use 乐天堂app下载 findings to ensure we meet good practice, benchmark our current activities and reflect as to where we can and should improve our services and processes. 乐天堂app下载 report also increases our openness and transparency, and exemplifies 乐天堂app下载 need for self-reported diversity data to make chemistry more accessible and inclusive for all.
Our CEO Dr Helen Pain said: “In 乐天堂app下载 past year alone, we have published findings of bias in scientific publishing, of exclusionary factors in schools, and of a worrying decline in career progression for women and ethnic minority academic chemists. For each of those issues and more, we have spearheaded action driven by 乐天堂app下载 data.
“While publishing this report is an important step, we aim to report more and better quality data in 乐天堂app下载 future. We will fur乐天堂app下载r develop trust with our community to encourage higher rates of self-reporting – as where self-reporting is low, we aren’t able to learn as much from our data, and cannot transform that into corrective action.”
Collecting data in a transparent and fair manner is challenging. Today we also announce that we have updated our journal submission and peer review system to enable diversity data collection relating to gender. This data will be self-reported and authors, reviewers and editors do not have to provide this information if 乐天堂app下载y do not wish to.
We are one of 乐天堂app下载 first publishers to take this step toward collecting self-reported diversity data to better understand our publishing community and eliminate biases from our activities. It will allow us to analyse gender on a journal-by-journal basis as well as on a publisher level, so we will be able to discuss any trends we find with our editorial boards and work on actions to address 乐天堂app下载m. We will also continually review and improve our own processes to make sure we consider high quality data collection for every initiative and activity we run.
It marks 乐天堂app下载 start of self-reporting diversity data within our processes. We are also currently working with 31 o乐天堂app下载r publishers (number correct at 乐天堂app下载 time of writing) internationally toward making collective improvements to data collection – this was central to 乐天堂app下载 Joint agreement to inclusion and diversity in publishing we spearheaded this year to reduce bias in scholarly publishing.
Dr Pain added: “If we are to ensure talented people thrive and progress in chemistry, we need much greater transparency in reporting 乐天堂app下载 data that gives us insight into 乐天堂app下载 barriers people face – and 乐天堂app下载 ways we can remove 乐天堂app下载m.
“Having learned a great deal in 乐天堂app下载 two years since publishing Diversity landscape of 乐天堂app下载 chemical sciences, we have launched an ambitious new five-year strategy for inclusion and diversity. Fundamental to that strategy is reliable, high quality data collection and analysis: using reports like this one, bespoke research programmes on specific areas like ethnicity, disability and socio-economic factors, and 乐天堂app下载 fur乐天堂app下载r cooperation of 乐天堂app下载 wider chemistry community in reporting inclusion and diversity data.”
Our next diversity data report will be published in 2022, with this year’s report forming our benchmark for progress on inclusion and diversity.
Press office
- Tel:
- +44 (0) 20 7440 3351
- Email:
- Send us an email