Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee

The DEI space is multifaceted, with attention on not only the differing experiences of multiple demographics (remembering they often intersect), but also the spaces in which those experiences occur. Some of the core spaces ripe for change currently include:

• The scholarly publishing workforce
• Editorial stakeholders, most notably authors, reviewers and editors/board members
• Research participants/subjects
• Reader accessibility

Evidence on the lack of equality and representation in these core spaces is growing, and in time EASE hopes it’s Open Access journal, European Science Editing, may be a home for more of this literature.

EASE is a signatory to the Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications (C4DISC), an initiative formed to discuss and address issues of DEI within our industry. Along with promoting the work and resources of C4DISC, we hope to be able to extend the support and guidance for our members on issues relating to DEI, encourage the establishment of a more representative workforce within scholarly publishing, highlight inequalities in the research datasets, as well as making EASE itself a more inclusive, welcoming and representative space.

Mission 

The mission of the DEI committee is to:

• Ensure EASE is a socially-just community that welcomes, values, and celebrates all with whom it interacts and that its statement is owned at the highest level within the EASE Association;
• Ensure the EASE Association and the EASE journal, European Science Editing, incorporates DEI policies throughout its operations and is seen to do so;
• Work with our members and industry partners to support DEI in scholarly communications, editing and publishing at all levels;
• Design, implement and/or support initiatives to increase DEI amongst authors, journal editors and all those operating in the scholarly editing and publishing ecosystem.

Objectives/Goals 

1. Identify partners and existing initiatives whose work we could support, and partners who could help develop, test and support the work coming out of this Committee
2. Assess the diversity of EASE representatives and inclusivity of EASE’s structure and governance and make recommendations to Council about how these could be improved
3. Monitor and evaluate diversity and inclusion policies and processes used by others in the industry to identify good practice and case studies. Please visit our page DEI Example Policies and Statements to see some examples from leading publishers. You can add your own examples by completing this short form.
4. Produce guidelines (where required) detailing good practice for editors and authors, with case studies from point 3 above
5. Advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion awareness amongst EASE members and the broader publishing industry, and promote good practice in editing and publishing
6. Develop and/or link out to other training resources, for example unconscious bias, anti-racism and micro-aggressions.

Current projects

A detailed action plan is devised by the full Committee each year. This year’s is the DEI Review, Strategy and Action Plan 2026. This document sets out how the Committee is organised and functions; how it communicates with its community; its ongoing tasks; and its current and future projects. These include:

1. Promoting the DEI Awareness Raising Slide Deck, reviewing its use and updating as appropriate;
2. Promoting the use of the SDG Checklist and leading the work on the ‘Reduce Inequalities’ goal in collaboration with the E&S Committee;
3. Creating a roadmap providing a set of guidelines and useful resources to support editors and provide guidance on how they can navigate their own DEI journey promoted through the EASE Learning Hub;
4. Delivering a session at the EASE Summer Symposium, June 2026, and presenting a poster for the Exhibition and Competition in the community engagement category.
5. Delivering two DEI webinars, one Spring, one Autumn.