Springer Nature takes further action on diversity, equity and inclusion
Signing Joint Commitment for Action on Inclusion and Diversity in Publishing reflects need for collaborative steps to effect change
London | Berlin | New York, 18 August 2021
In another milestone in its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, Springer Nature has signed the Joint Commitment for Action on Inclusion and Diversity in Publishing - an initiative coordinated by the Royal Society of Chemistry - joining a key group of organisations that are working towards a more inclusive and diverse culture within scholarly publishing.
Springer Nature first appointed a director of diversity and inclusion in 2018 and over the past twelve months has shared its global diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategy, which aims to embed the values of DEI both within the company and champion them within the communities it serves.
Participating in the Joint Commitment is one of a number of actions that Springer Nature is taking and reflects the need for publishers and others to act collaboratively to effect change across the scholarly publishing system.
Dr Sowmya Swaminathan, Head of Editorial Policy and Chair of Springer Nature’s Research Publishing DEI Programme, said “There is a deep commitment across Springer Nature to addressing diversity, equity and inclusion both within the company and in the communities we serve. Knowledge sharing and development of unified solutions across the industry will help us to make progress more quickly. One of the biggest challenges we face is how to best enable the consistent reporting of relevant, sensitive data to allow for baselining and then measurement of progress. Collaborating on best practice in this area is an exciting prospect of the Joint Commitment.”
Jessica Gedamu, Global Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, commented “Joining the Joint Commitment for Action on Inclusion and Diversity in Publishing offers us a fantastic opportunity to share ideas and best practices across the industry. Through this, we are able to identify and share the best, most innovative approaches, and work together to increase representation of different communities within our industry.”
Dr Laura Norton, inclusion and diversity senior programme manager at the Royal Society of Chemistry, said: “We are very pleased to welcome Springer Nature as a formal signatory of our Joint Commitment for Action on Inclusion and Diversity in Publishing. They have already been participating in the partnership openly and generously sharing their knowledge, expertise and experience.
“The news of this formal commitment cements their continued engagement with this very important initiative and we look forward to making even more progress in ensuring inclusion throughout publishing activities, as we continue working together to support our academic and research communities.”
ENDS
Note to Editors:
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) launched the Joint Commitment for Action on Inclusion and Diversity in Publishing in June 2020 with an initial 11 signatories. As a group, members acknowledge that biases exist in scholarly publishing and commit to scrutinising their own processes to minimise these. The group agrees to openly pool members’ resources, expertise and insight to accelerate research culture change. The commitment has now brought together over 40 publishing organisations to set a new standard to ensure a more inclusive and diverse culture within scholarly publishing.
The four objectives of the group and a list of all signatories can be found here.
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Sam Sule | Communications | Springer Nature
sam.sule@springernature.com
