Category: Insights

Simon Holt, Erin Osborne-Martin, Miguel Ramon, Matthew Salter, Karen Stoll Farrell    |    December 12, 2022

The authors would like to thank those who contributed ideas to this piece, including: Lisa Braverman, Sylvia Hunter, Dan Shanahan and Jennifer Erica Sweda.

December 3 marks the UN’s annual International Day of People with Disabilities. Over 1 billion people worldwide, or 15% of the world’s working-age population, have a disability. Around 80% of disabilities are ‘hidden’, meaning that it’s highly likely that you live and work with many people with disabilities, without being aware of it. More broadly, it means that as organizations and as an industry, if we are serious about diversity and equity, we need to proactively take steps to become more disability inclusive.

There is, of course, a big difference between recognizing that something needs to be done, and knowing how to go about doing it. To this end, a group of volunteers (volunteer with us) is currently partnering with C4DISC to build aToolkit for Disability Equity in the Scholarly Communications Industry, following on from the excellent antiracism and inclusive language toolkits already published. We hope to launch the first version of this toolkit in 2023.

One of the main things we have learned during the development of the toolkit is that many of the activities that make the most impactful difference are small-scale and low-cost, involve behaviors rather than huge infrastructure shifts, and are changes that organizations of any size can implement. We also recognize that inclusion is a journey, and everybody needs to start somewhere. In this article, we present 10 quick wins to help make your organization more disability inclusive.

>>To read the full article, click here.

The APA strategic plan calls for a strong, diverse, and unified psychology that enhances knowledge and improves the human condition. In line with this vision, APA Journals is committed to equity in its practices and systems.

APA Journals aims to address systemic inequities and bias, promote equitable opportunities for researchers, and foster an inclusive environment within the psychological research and scholarly publishing communities, representative of the wide array of people that psychology consists of and serves.

APA developed resources specifically for editors to help strengthen their equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) efforts and align them with APA’s strategic plan. Access the EDI Toolkit for Journal Editors to help promote equity and inclusion in your journals.

>>>Read more here.

SSP

In celebration of the first-ever unofficial “Publishing Ethics Week,” we are excited to share this special collection of resources from a host of scholarly publishing organizations. Scholarly communications and publishing organizations across the industry are invited to collaborate on raising awareness of publishing ethics by contributing content, programming, or resources that highlight issues of publishing ethics. We welcome collaborators of all kinds.

>>>Read full post here

Porter Anderson   |   August 25, 2022

Roughly three-quarters of respondents to Wiley’s academic-society survey said they want societies to ‘take the lead’ on diversity.

Responses from 118 Countries, 40+ Disciplines

Wiley’s far-flung work in scholarly and academic publishing has prompted it to promote itself and its services heavily to “society leaders,” and the survey its public relations operatives are touting results particularly in two areas–”DE&I,” which is the ubiquitous shorthand for diversity, equality, and inclusivity, and sustainability. Because we prefer to avoid asking our international readers to keep up with a lot of acronyms, we will refer to “DE&I” simply as diversity.

“The number of women responders to our survey has stayed steady at 36 percent for the third year running.” Wiley survey discussion

Among top-line results, 74 percent of respondents said that it was important for learned societies to “take the lead” in diversity, and that point is specialized in areas of racial and ethnic representation in this case.

>>>Read more here.

July-August 2016   |   Frank Dobbins and Alexandra Kalev

Strategies for controlling bias—which drive most diversity efforts—have failed spectacularly since they were introduced to promote equal opportunity. Black men have barely gained ground in corporate management since 1985. White women haven’t progressed since 2000. It isn’t that there aren’t enough educated women and minorities out there—both groups have made huge educational gains over the past two generations. The problem is that we can’t motivate people by forcing them to get with the program and punishing them if they don’t.

The numbers sum it up. Your organization will become less diverse, not more, if you require managers to go to diversity training, try to regulate their hiring and promotion decisions, and put in a legalistic grievance system.

The very good news is that we know what does work—we just need to do more of it.

[Summary of some of the programs that get results:

• Voluntary Training
• Self-Managed Teams
• Cross-Training
• College Recruitments
• Mentoring
• Diversity Task Force
• Diversity Managers]

>>>For more, read here.

How organizations can foster diversity, equity, and inclusion: taking action to address and prevent workplace bias while centering women of color.

Few would disagree that inclusion is both the right thing to do and good for business. Then why are we so terrible at it? If we believe in the morality and the profitability of including people of diverse and underestimated backgrounds in the workplace, why don’t we do it? Because, explains Ruchika Tulshyan in this eye-opening book, we don’t realize that inclusion takes awareness, intention, and regular practice. Inclusion doesn’t just happen; we have to work at it. Tulshyan presents inclusion best practices, showing how leaders and organizations can meaningfully promote inclusion and diversity.

Tulshyan centers the workplace experience of women of color, who are subject to both gender and racial bias. It is at the intersection of gender and race, she shows, that we discover the kind of inclusion policies that benefit all. Tulshyan debunks the idea of the “level playing field” and explains how leaders and organizations can use their privilege for good by identifying and exposing bias, knowing that they typically have less to lose in speaking up than a woman of color does. She explains why “leaning in” doesn’t work—and dismantling structural bias does; warns against hiring for “culture fit,” arguing for “culture add” instead; and emphasizes the importance of psychological safety in the workplace—you need to know that your organization has your back. With this important book, Tulshyan shows us how we can make progress toward inclusion and diversity—and we must start now.

>>Read more about the book here.

In the United States, only 6% of the 1.5 million faculty in degree-granting postsecondary institutions is Black. Research shows that, while many institutions tout the idea of diversity recruitment, not much progress has been made to diversify faculty ranks, especially at research-intensive institutions. We’re Not Ok shares the experiences of Black faculty to take the reader on a journey, from the obstacles of landing a full-time faculty position through the unique struggles of being a Black educator at a predominantly white institution, along with how these deterrents impact inclusion, retention, and mental health. The book provides practical strategies and recommendations for graduate students, faculty, staff, and administrators, along with changemakers, to make strides in diversity, equity, and inclusion. More than a presentation of statistics and anecdotes, it is the start of a dialogue with the intent of ushering actual change that can benefit Black faculty, their students, and their institutions.

>>Read more about this book here.

Danielle Duran Baron   |  March 21, 2022

When people focus on DEI, they often think about who they’re hiring and asking to participate, rather than how they speak to people. However, using the wrong language in communications can offend, or worse, lead to a crisis at your association. Consider these ideas to communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders.

Read full article here.

Alice Meadows   |    March 10, 2022

March 18, 2022    |    Odessa S. Hamilton, Lindsay Kohler, Elle Bradley Cox, and Grace Lordan

Using exclusionary language isn’t just about offending others; research has made its harmful effects clear. To create a truly inclusive culture, it’s critical that you take a hard look at how people in all areas of your company are using language. The authors present four ways you as leader can encourage the use of inclusive language in your company. First, make sure your recruiters and hiring managers slow down and pay attention to the language they use when drafting job postings, with an eye toward removing non-neutral terms. Second, create a list of words that are forbidden in product development. Third, pair internal company guidance that includes practical, accessible tips that can be put into immediate action (for example, an inclusive vocabulary reference guide) with straightforward tools, such as the “inclusive language” feature available in Microsoft Office, which suggests neutral alternatives to biased language used in professional communications. Finally, choose ambassadors who are highly visible in the company to support your inclusive language initiatives.

>>Read full article here.