C4DISC relaunches the Workplace Equity Survey to assess DEIA progress
Since the first Workplace Equity Survey in 2018, we have been through a sea change in how we lead our work lives. What has come of the organizational commitments to support DEIA initiatives, sparked by the pandemic and murder of George Floyd?
In May 2023 we will ask for your participation in the 2023 Workplace Equity survey. We will assess how workplaces in the scholarly publishing industry have (or haven’t) changed. We welcome your personal stories of your lived experiences and perceptions – the access or barriers to opportunity, inclusivity, and equity you are encountering.
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2018 benchmarks
Five years ago, nearly 1,200 individuals working in scholarly publishing organizations and consultancies shared their personal experiences of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the 2018 Workplace Equity Survey (WE Survey). The analysis of their collective perceptions broadened our understanding of workplace experience, practice, and opportunity. Among the findings, the WE Survey showed that:
- Senior leaders in scholarly publishing were more likely to be older, White males with master’s degrees. The chances of attaining a senior position in scholarly publishing were higher for White males with no tertiary-level qualifications than for Black females with postgraduate degrees.
- Most demographic groups (with the exception of the Black cohort) recognized their own challenges but were blind to the bias experienced by other groups.
- Respondents revealed that their own experiences were defined more by the attitudes of their line managers, than organizational policies and programs.
The 2018 WE Survey was an important milestone in growing momentum to transform our industry. The publication of Evaluating Equity in Scholarly Publishing in Learned Publishing, and the survey data in the Open IPCSR repository, established benchmarks from which we hope we can measure progress. Co-chairs of the 2023 Workplace Equity Survey are Simone Taylor and Chhavi Chauhan with support of a self-nominated committee.
You can make a difference!
As the murder of Tyre Nichols was dominating the news in February 2023, Scholarly Kitchen Chef Dianndra Roberts challenged colleagues in scholarly publishing with What have you done for DEIA lately?. Reflecting on what our industry has achieved 2022, including the Toolkits for Equity, but called us to action even in the face of exhaustion and frustration:
Change does not come at the first step, and you cannot stop at the first hurdle or the second or the third. We all have to keep going and do the work. For those of us who are marginalized and continually doing the work to change an environment, a system, an industry that does not always feel welcoming to us, it can be exhausting. I have personally burned out from this in the past, so please protect your peace, rest when you need to and know that what you are doing matters and is valued.
One way we can all make a difference by participating in/promoting the WE Survey in 2023!