About the Coalition

The Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications was founded by 10 trade and professional associations that represent organizations and individuals working in scholarly communications. The Coalition was formed to discuss and address issues of diversity and inclusion within our industry.

A number of surveys in recent years have shed light on the lack of diversity in scholarly communications.  From issues of gender equality to the noticeable lack of ethnic diversity in our workforce, there is an increasing awareness that, as an industry, we are not a model of inclusivity. Publishing is truly a global enterprise yet that diversity is not reflected in our collective demographics.

Representatives from the 10 founding organizations first met in Boston, MA, at the Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP) Annual Meeting in June 2017, to discuss our shared interests in addressing these challenges and to share information about current initiatives to tackle the lack of diversity and inclusion within the industry. We agreed to continue our discussions and collaborate on possible projects starting with a Joint Statement of Principles. Working collectively, we can combine our resources and have a greater impact.

During the initial meeting, we identified a number of areas to focus on. These included developing a joint statement of principles; conducting market research; providing training resources, best practices, toolkits, and documentation for our collective memberships; and establishing outreach programs, curricula, events, and publications.

There are currently fifteen member organizations in the Coalition and representatives meet monthly, and have started to implement some of these initiatives. We welcome other scholarly communications organizations to join us as members.

If you’re interested in learning more, please email: c4disc@gmail.com.

If you have feedback on any of our resources please use this form!

 

Mission, Vision, and Values

The Mission of C4DISC is to work with organizations and individuals to build equity, inclusion, diversity, and accessibility in scholarly communications.

The Vision of C4DISC is a socially just community that welcomes, values, and celebrates all who seek to contribute to scholarly communications.

The Values of C4DISC include:

Respect.

  • value differences
  • welcome diverse perspectives

Listen.

  • learn from different communities
  • make space for marginalized voices

Act.

  • eliminate barriers
  • be an ally

 

Joint Statement of Principles

Acknowledgements

The future of scholarly communications will be positively impacted by attracting and retaining a pool of highly talented and creative professionals from diverse and/or historically excluded backgrounds who possess a wide range of skill sets and viewpoints.

Increasing diversity, equity and inclusion in scholarly communications is a moral imperative. In addition, research shows that diverse teams working together and capitalizing on innovative ideas and distinct perspectives outperform homogeneous teams.1 Realizing diverse teams ensures that individuals from diverse backgrounds and life experiences bring different perspectives, creativity, and individual enterprise to address the issues facing our profession. There are many benefits that flow from a diverse scholarly publishing ecosystem, including: fostering innovation and problem solving; promoting changes in society; contributing to robust learning environments, worker satisfaction, increased sales potential, and financial performance; improving the quality of market solutions and responsiveness to market needs.2,3,4,5 Importantly, it’s also the right thing to do.

Diverse teams enable us to better serve the increasingly diverse research and academic communities that are both the creators and consumers of scholarly publications. These benefits can be realized when we ensure diversity in all roles and levels (particularly in organizational leadership) within the scholarly communication landscape, including all staff, volunteers, and audiences.

To ensure sustainability, equity, growth, access, discussion and debate, our industry must commit to long-term efforts to curb the deeply ingrained patterns of exclusion and inequities in our practices, policies, and frameworks.6,7

Definitions

Accessibility enables everyone—whether or not they have a disability— to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services in an equally integrated and equally effective manner. Organizations shall take appropriate measures to ensure access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to all.

Diversity refers to the composition of a group of people from any number of demographic backgrounds: identities (innate and selected); the collective strength of their experiences, beliefs, values, skills, and perspectives; and the historical and ongoing ways in which these groups have been affected by structures of power. The variability in a diverse group is apparent in the characteristics we see and hear, as well as through behaviors and expressions that we encounter and experience in our workplaces and organizations. Diverse organizations are not by default inclusive.

Equity ensures that all individuals are provided the resources and support they need to access opportunities available to their peers.

Inclusion is the act of establishing philosophies, policies, practices, and procedures to ensure equitable access to opportunities and resources that support individuals in contributing to an organization’s success. Through encouraging awareness of power structures, creating opportunities for those who have historically been excluded, and attempting to decenter majority culture, inclusion creates the environment and infrastructure in which diversity within organizations can exist and thrive. Inclusive organizations are by definition committed to achieving a sense of belonging for everyone at all levels.

Principles

In principle and in practice, collectively, C4DISC member and partner organizations value and seek accessibility, diversity, and equitable and inclusive practices within the scholarly communications ecosystem. Our goal is to promote involvement, innovation, and expanded access to leadership opportunities that maximize engagement across identity groups and professional levels. Identity groups include and are not limited to:

  • ability/disability
  • age
  • appearance
  • citizenship status
  • ethnicity
  • family and other caring responsibilities
  • gender and gender identity
  • genetic information
  • geographic location
  • military/veteran status
  • nationality/national origin or tribal membership
  • political beliefs
  • pregnancy/parental status
  • professional career/education level
  • race/color
  • religion/belief/value system
  • sex
  • sexual orientation
  • socio-economic background/social class

Collectively we will provide leadership and commit time and resources to accomplish these objectives, while serving as a model to our members and to individuals and organizations engaged in ensuring accessibility, diversity, and equitable and inclusive practices.

We are committed to: 

  • eliminating barriers to participation, extending equitable opportunities across all stakeholders, and ensuring that our practices and policies promote equitable treatment and do not allow, condone, or result in discrimination;
  • creating and maintaining an environment that respects diverse traditions, heritages, and experiences;
  • promoting diversity in all staff, volunteers, and audiences, including full participation in programs, policy formulation, and decision-making;
  • raising awareness about career opportunities in our industry to groups who are currently underrepresented in the workforce;
  • supporting our community in achieving diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility within their organizations.

References

  1. Rock D., Grant M., and Grey, J. (September 2016) Diverse Teams Feel Less Comfortable — and That’s Why They Perform, Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from   https://hbr.org/2016/09/diverse-teams-feel-less-comfortable-and-thats-why-they-perform-better  or this article from Dr. Katherine Phillips: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-diversity-makes-us-smarter/
  2. Hunt, V., Layton, D. and Prince, S. (2015, January) Why diversity matters. Mckinsey Company. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/why-diversity-matters
  3. Galinsky AD, Todd AR, Homan AC, et al. Maximizing the Gains and Minimizing the Pains of Diversity: A Policy Perspective. Perspectives on Psychological Science. 2015;10(6):742-748. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691615598513
  4. Saxena, A. (2014) Workforce Diversity: A Key to Improve Productivity. Procedia Economics and Finance. Volume 11:76-85, https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(14)00178-6
  5. Hewlett, S.A., Marshall, M. and Sherbin, L. (December 2013) How Diversity can drive innovation. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2013/12/how-diversity-can-drive-innovation
  6. Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity. Notice Number: NOT-OD-20-031. Retrieved from https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-20-031.html
  7. Greco, A.N., Wharton, R.M. and Brand, A. (2016), Demographics of scholarly publishing and communication professionals. Learned Publishing, 29: 97-101. https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1017

Updated October 2021

Featured Resources

                               

Events

 

Upcoming Member and Partner Events

The following events are hosted by C4DISC Members and Partners. Please contact c4disc@gmail.com if you are a C4DISC Member or Partner and have an upcoming diversity, equity, or inclusion-themed event you would like to have posted.

 

 

 

Past Events

C4DISC Community Meeting

Wednesday, June 17, 2026 | 11:30 am-12:00 pm ET

The C4DISC Steering Committee invited all C4DISC members, partners, volunteers, and other community members to our annual Community Meeting on Wednesday, June 17, from 11:30-12:00pm EST.

If you haven’t yet completed our community questionnaire, please do so now (and share widely).

 

Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications – Integrating Values around DEIA and Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs)

Wednesday, July 9, 2025 | 11:00 am-12:00 pm ET

In today’s global landscape, the scholarly publishing industry is increasingly recognizing the imperative of integrating values centered around Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA), and sustainability, including the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), into their organizational frameworks. It is essential that the publishing industry and publishing process better reflect the multiple dimensions of diversity within the research community and ensure representation of the very often marginalized or vulnerable communities who are most impacted by SDG-relevant research.

This session will explore the mechanisms and strategies employed by organizations to incorporate these values into their objectives and activities. Drawing upon the lens of DEI, organizations establish DEIA liaisons and foster communities of practice to ensure diverse perspectives are considered at all levels. Furthermore, the designation of sustainability champions within an organization can facilitate the alignment of business strategies with environmental and social responsibility goals, within and outside the organization. From the perspectives of three organizations, this session will underscore the significance of integrating these values into organizational structures, highlighting the various ways of fostering innovation, resilience, and positive societal impact.

 

 

Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications | Bridging Intergenerational Experiences

Tuesday, April 29, 2025  
11:00am – 12:00pm  EST

The majority of today’s workforce come from four generations: Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z. The differences among experiences, communication styles, and values common to each generation can lead to misunderstandings and create conflict on the job. So how can we cooperate across generations to best foster an inclusive, cohesive work environment?

Join us for a panel discussion and an audience Q&A as we explore generational experiences within the workplace, focusing on how diverse generational identities and life stages influence and shape workplace cultures and dynamics. We’ll discuss themes around recruitment, communication, stereotypes, and generational perspectives and values.

 

C4DISC Rapid Response Sprint, February 13 2025

Thursday, February 13, 2025 
9 am – 4 pm  EST

The Steering Committee would like to invite you to participate in a Rapid Response Sprint on Thursday, February 13. See below for details. 

Purpose: To assemble resources and provide support to C4DISC member and partner organizations and community members as they respond to the current political landscape around DEIA work. 

Format: This will be a day-long, drop-in sprint (Thursday, 2/13, 9am-4pm ET). There will be an agenda of activities and designated facilitators for each one. Participants can come for as much or as little of the day as they want. Community members interested in contributing who can’t make it to the sprint can still sign up to be included in a pool of volunteers to tackle action items coming out of the sprint. 

How it will work: If you’re interested in participating, please fill out the Google Form. We will send you the call-in link and the agenda as it comes together. You can drop in at any point during the day based on your availability and interest. 

Agenda: The agenda is still in development, but it will definitely include the following work: 

  • Drafting a communication highlighting existing C4DISC resources that may be of use to community members at this time.

  • Beginning work on a resource for professional member communities (like the members of C4DISC), drawing from our existing Toolkits for Equity.

  • Best practices for responding to current events at the federal, state, and local levels.

Questions? Email c4disc@gmail.com 

 

Webinar: Women Leaders in Scholarly Publishing: Empowering Self and Inspiring Others

Thursday, October 24, 2024

 

The field of scholarly publishing faces significant challenges related to DEIA, and gender is one critical dimension that demands attention. While women are in many roles within publishing, there are too few leading publishing houses. Improvement is needed, and this session focuses on the role of women in leadership. In an area where we know gender disparities persist, it is heartening to recognize that women are at the forefront, leading the way in various roles.

 Our speakers occupy key leadership positions across different domains within scholarly publishing. We cordially invite you to join us to engage with this panel of women leaders. Our primary goal is to inspire and empower others within the industry by sharing experiences and insights. We hope to encourage more women to follow in these remarkable footsteps.

 Moderated by Anjana Sankara Narayanan, Acquisitions Editor, Standards, ASCE

 Speakers: Roohi Ghosh, Ambassador, Researcher Outreach, Engagement, and Success, Cactus Communications, Sarah Phibbs, STM’s Director of Research4Life Publisher Partnerships, Mia Ricci, Director, Publications Operations, American Geophysical Union (AGU) and Simone Taylor, Chief of Publishing Operations, American Psychiatric Association

 

Webinar: Fostering Psychological Safety in the Workplace: An Intro for Scholarly Publishers

Produced by the Society for Scholarly Publishing Mental Health Task Force

5 September 


We do our best work when we can bring our full selves to the job. When we feel comfortable taking risks and making mistakes without fear of humiliation or punishment, we’re more likely to find satisfaction at work and—in turn—to perform better. These ideas are central to the concept of psychological safety, and fostering that safety is key in building a productive, fulfilling work environment.

Join us to gain a detailed understanding of psychological safety at work: what it looks like, why it matters, and how to facilitate it. We’ll discuss how individuals within various levels in an organization’s structure can contribute, how to address psychologically unsafe environments, and how a DEI-informed approach can support an organization’s goals around inclusivity.

Moderated by Sarah Bay, Scientific Editor and Program Manager, Genetics Society of America
Speakers: Alisa C.D. Clark, Head of DEI for Cell Press, Elsevier and Dennis P. Stolle Senior Director of Applied Psychology, American Psychological Association

 

Produced by the Society for Scholarly Publishing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Committee. 

Webinar: Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB) in the Institutional Publishing Ecosystem

4 June 2024 

You are invited to a webinar on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB)  in the Institutional Publishing Ecosystem. This joint DIAMAS/C4DISC webinar will be a thought-provoking, 90-minute webinar where the findings of the DIAMAS Institutional Publishing Landscape survey, and the sections of the DIAMAS Extensible Quality Standard in Institutional Publishing (EQSIP) and Toolsuite and Guidelines, concerning gender and accessibility will be presented. The Webinar will also provide insights into developments in EDIB in scholarly publishing from C4DISC. There will be time for questions.

13th GW Ethics in Publishing Conference
October 12, 2023

Chhavi Chuahan, Co-chair, Workplace Equity Survey and Anne Stone, Committee member lead a session about progress in diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility across scholarly communications. 

OASPA Online Conference on Open Access Scholarly Publishing
19 -21 September 2023

Malavika Legge presented findings from this year’s workshops on Equity on Open Access and invited input from attendees.  

 

ALPSP Conference 2023: Building an Inclusive Workplace Culture, 13 September 2023

 

ALPSP Conference 2023: Diversity in Commissioning, 14 September 2023 

 

C4DISC WEBINAR

Demographic Information in Peer Review Systems: Challenges and Solutions 
Wednesday, March 22, 2023

 

Insufficient representation among editorial leadership, editorial boards, authors, and reviewers remains a key barrier to promoting an inclusive and equitable scholarly publishing industry (Buchanan, et al., 2021; Hanson, et al., 2020; Roberts, et al., 2020; & Roh, et al., 2020). The systematic exclusion of groups including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), women, gender non-conforming people, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and members of the disability community from scholarly communications is harmful to both the integrity of the scientific review and publication process and to those individuals’ careers (Roh & Inefuku, 2016). Collecting, measuring, and using demographic data to improve these gaps in representation are important mechanisms for enabling an equitable and inclusive scholarly publishing environment. This session will offer perspectives from several scholarly publishing professionals about how their organizations are collecting and using author and reviewer demographic information to improve representation and inclusion in the peer review and publication process. Speakers will address questions around challenges and solutions for collecting demographic data; they will also offer actions for addressing, measuring, and mitigating bias in peer review to create a more socially just science. Demographics differ by country and region, and so this session will offer global perspectives on these issues. Sponsored by SSP’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.

Moderator: Rebecca (Becs) Kirk, PLOS

Speakers:
Holly Falk-Krzesinski, Elsevier
Dan Rogers, Oxford University Press
Alex Mendonça, SciELO

Combined slides can be found here . 

 

C4DISC WEBINAR

Antiracism Toolkit for Organizations

Tuesday, March 22, 2022 

Building equity and promoting antiracism at organizations are not the jobs of specific individuals but are collective responsibilities. This webinar will explore C4DISC’s “Antiracism Toolkit for Organizations,” written by a multiracial group of industry professionals. The toolkit is intended to help individuals at all levels within scholarly publishing organizations implement inclusive policies, procedures, and norms.

Join us to explore this tool for organizations to understand institutionalized racism, to better support staff who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), and to better serve BIPOC authors, readers, and reviewers. 

Moderator: Jocelyn Dawson, Journals and Collections Marketing Manager, Duke University Press

Speakers:
Jamaal Thompson, Vice President of Strategic Projects, Panorama Education
Erin Landis, Managing Director, Origin Editorial

 

 C4DISC WEBINAR

Ensuring Equitable Participation In Open Science

October 21, 2021 

Open access and open science are attempts to ensure knowledge is as widely accessible as possible. More and more publishers are launching open access journals and embracing open science principles. Questions remain, however, as to whether open access and open science are currently accessible to all. The most visible notions of open access and open science are primarily founded in—and have perpetuated—the values and standards established by organizations, institutions, and funders in Western Europe and North America. Open access and open science can therefore continue to exclude the very researchers that these models are supposed to benefit. For example, business models like article processing charges do not account for unequal access to funding. Other issues not specific to open access are exclusionary English-language style standards and unconscious bias in the peer review process.

In this webinar, we will explore how models of openness have not always resolved, and in some instances may have created, inequitable barriers for some researchers. We will unpack the impact of those barriers on researchers and propose some ways to overcome them.

 

 

 C4DISC WEBINAR

Intersectionality: Considering Identity When Working Towards a More Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Future

Tuesday, June 15, 2021

As individuals, we are never just one identity, and the concept of intersectionality highlights how multiple, overlapping identities—for example, race, class, gender, and sexuality—contribute to the ways in which marginalized groups of people experience discrimination. In this webinar, we’ll ask how this layering of identities impacts our experience of and contribution to our working environment. Join us as we explore what intersectionality means, how it can shape our professional experience, and what we can do to better support ourselves and our colleagues. 

Moderator: Laura Martin, Senior Project and Change Manager at Wiley

Speakers:
Axelle Ahanhanzo, Customer Success Manager at Elsevier
Andolyn Medina, Naval office
Derek Victor, cisgender, white, queer, disabled educator, writer and activist 

 

C4DISC WEBINAR

Quiet Leadership: Discovering the New Strategic Advantage and the Hidden Talent in Your Organization

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

“A leader is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind,” wrote Nelson Mandela in his autobiography. In the United States, leadership is closely connected to charisma and visibility. If you are not visible, you are not a leader. In many other parts of the world, especially in Asian cultures, leadership is not about being visible. It is the opposite: quietly doing your work and assuming that rewards will come. Can tacit assumptions about leadership lead to different outcomes regarding who occupies top leadership positions in corporate America and other organizations? What is the reason that despite founding one-fourth of firms in Silicon Valley during the technology boom, Asian Americans are still perceived as not “leadership material?” The evidence suggests that Asian Americans, a mere 5% of the U.S population, have contributed a significantly high proportion of entrepreneurs and innovators. But they practice a form of quiet or invisible leadership because of an unconscious, deep–rooted cultural assumption that leadership is about enabling and empowering, not about bringing attention to oneself and shining. Based on Dr. Thatchenkery’s new book on this topic, the talk will highlight the leadership contributions of Asian Americans in organizational settings. It will show that empowering such invisible leaders can create meaningful and positive change in organizations.

Speaker: Dr. Tojo Thatchenkery, George Mason University