Recognizing that collective action on a greater scale can accelerate change, WE Project will cease independent operations by year-end
New York, November 25, 2019. The Workplace Equity Project (WE Project), a grassroots organization advancing diversity, inclusion, and equity in scholarly publishing workplaces through research, communication, and advocacy, is pleased to announce that it has contributed its resources and research findings to the Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications (C4DISC). C4DISC is a partnership of industry and professional associations that convened in 2017 to address diversity and inclusion.
“We are delighted to have found a good home for the WE Project as part of C4DISC. We are very proud of what we achieved so far with the help of dozens of individuals and organizations. The WE project documented the everyday workplace experiences, practices and realities of colleagues all over the world and gives voice to their relative perceptions of bias and privilege. We look forward to effectively tackling gender equality, ethnic diversity, and persistent barriers to inclusivity through collective action on a greater scale. Integrating the WE Project resources with the industry-wide C4DISC coalition will bolster that effort,” said the WE Project’s co-founders, Susan Spilka, Simone Taylor, and Jeri Wachter.
“Publishing is truly a global enterprise, yet that diversity is not reflected in our collective demographics. Nor is our industry the model of inclusivity it aspires to be. The resources that C4DISC acquired from the WE Project will accelerate our efforts to eliminate these disparities by serving as benchmarks for future research, and providing channels that communicate the multitude of individual perspectives and experiences,” said Melanie Dolechek, Executive Director of the Society of Scholarly Publishing and convener for C4DISC.
The WE Project’s digital assets, including “Global Voices for Workplace Equity: Findings from the WE Survey 2018” and the Voices and Insights blogs, are now found on c4disc.org.
The WE Project’s owned media assets will be shut down by December 31, 2019, including:
WE Project’s social media and followers will be invited to follow C4DISC:
ABOUT C4DISC
C4DISC is partnership of industry and professional associations that addresses diversity and inclusion issues in scholarly communications. 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 shared interests in addressing these challenges and share information about current initiatives to collectively tackle the lack of diversity and inclusion within the industry. Thirty-four organizations have now adopted C4DISC’s Joint Statement of Principles.
To drive change, C4DISC will conduct market research; provide training resources, best practices, toolkits, and documentation; and establish outreach programs, curricula, events, and publications. C4DISC welcomes other scholarly communications organizations to adopt the Joint Statement of Principles C4DISC; please contact Melanie Dolechek for more information.
ABOUT WORKPLACE EQUITY PROJECT (WE PROJECT)
The WE Project is an independent, nonprofit organization that explores and assesses workplace experiences, practices, and opportunities in scholarly publishing. It aims to measurably advance equity in the industry by incorporating perspectives from a wider range of voices than is evident from current leadership structures. The WE Project employs research, communications, and advocacy to raise awareness and promote solutions for organizations across the industry. It was co-founded by Susan Spilka, Simone Taylor, and Jeri Wachter in 2017 and its resources and industry contributions became part of C4DISC in November 2019. Its independent owned media (www.workplaceequity.org, @WEsurvey, www.linkedin.com/company/workplace-equity-project-we/, and www.facebook.com/workplaceequityproject/) will shut down by December 31, 2019. For more information, please contact Susan Spilka.
