Scholarly Journal Publishing Guide

Equity

Equity, unlike the notion of equality, is not about sameness of treatment. It denotes fairness and justice in process and in results. Equitable outcomes often require differential treatment and resource redistribution to achieve a level playing field among all individuals and communities. This requires recognizing and addressing barriers to opportunities for all to thrive.  ​

Diversity

Describes the presence of difference within any collection of people, for example: ​

• Race​
• Gender Expression​
• Sexuality​
• (Dis)ability status​
• Socioeconomic background​
• Ethnicity​
• Religion ​
• Indigenous identity​
• Language​

Inclusion

Inclusion refers to the notion of belonging, feeling welcome and valued, having a sense of citizenship. It also speaks to a capacity to engage and succeed in a given institution, program, or setting. Inclusion calls for recognizing, reducing, and removing barriers to participation created by social disadvantage or oppression, and can result in the reimagination of an institution, program, or setting. 

Adapted from McGill Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Strategic Plan 2020-2025​

Diversity audits

Some journals/publishers undertake diversity audits to ascertain the diversity of their:

• editors
• reviewers
• authors
• readers

Some journals will also review the diversity of cited works and examples.

Examples:

• Case study from The Clinical Neuropsychologist​
• Diversity of ACRL publications, editorial board demographics: A report from ACRL’s Publications Coordinating Committee​

See additional studies on representation in publishing

Inclusive Language and Style Guides

Inclusive language​ examples*:

• Use of anonymous rather than "double-blind"​
• Use of singular 'they'
• Gender-inclusive language (e.g. chairperson)
• See also:
  • Inclusive & Antiracist Writing Resources (SFU) 
  • Conscious Styleguide 
  • Indigenous Peoples Language Guide (UBC)​
  • Écriture inclusive (McGill - French language)
  • Guidelines on Inclusive Language and Images in Scholarly Communication (C4DISC)

*Note: Many stylistic guide issues aren't formally resolved or codified. You should review various practices/debates in revising a style guide in your discipline.

Editorial Board 

• Unconscious bias training (Canada Research Chair program)
• Promoting Diverse, Equitable, & Inclusive Publishing Practices at the University of Florida: Support your team (LibraryPress@UF)

Questions to Ask:

• "How might our [your journal's] policies or procedures negatively impact people who hold different identities?"  (quote from Harrison W. Inefuku, "Initiating More Actionable Discussions About DEI in Scholarly Publishing: OA Week Series Part 2")
• Does your journal rely on informal networks to recruit? ​
• What credentials are required for editors, authors, and reviewers? ​
• Does your journal anonymize CVs?​
• What is your journal's criteria for selecting articles​? Does this negatively affect any groups?
• Are there any barriers to accessing opportunities in the journal?​

​

Note: This statements are for guidance purposes. Journals may use these as template but should reflect on what meets their journal's priorities, goals, community etc. 

Accessibility Statements

See also Accessibility resources for layout

• Canadian Journal of Disability Studies
• Nature Publishing​
• Rockefeller University Press​

EDI Statements

• Writing across the University of Alberta (Journal)​
• Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication​
• UC Irvine Law Review​
• Nature Portfolio​

Name Change Policies

• American Chemical Society​
• Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
• American Psychological Association
• American Society for Microbiology​​
• PLOS​

Beck, S. L. (2018). Developing and writing a diversity statement. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved [23 Feb. 2021]​

Bosc, Lauren. Exploring Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications. Webinar given for the Canadian Association of Learned Journals.

Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications: Toolkits.

Equity, diversity, and inclusion:  Update on C4DISC and how journals can implement EDI / Équité, diversité et inclusion : Mise à jour sur C4DISC et comment les revues peuvent mettre en pratique l’EDI. Webinar given for the Canadian Association of Learned Journals March 17, 2022. 

LibraryPress@UF. Promoting Diverse, Equitable, & Inclusive Publishing Practices at the University of Florida. 

Library Publishing Coalition: An Ethical Framework for Library Publishing – Topics: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Roh, C. (2016). Library publishing and diversity values: Changing scholarly publishing through policy and scholarly communication education. College & Research Libraries News, 77(2), 82-85. doi:10.5860/crln.77.2.9446​

Roh, Charlotte; Drabinski, Emily; and Inefuku, Harrison W., "Scholarly Communication as a Tool for Social Justice and Diversity" (2015). Digital Scholarship and Initiatives Conference Presentations and Posters. 8.  

University of California, Office of Scholarly Communication. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications. (2023),

Shraya, Vivek.  "#PublishingSoWhite: 13 Ways to Diversify Your Press" (2016). All Lit Up blog. ​

Younging, G. (2018). Elements of indigenous style : a guide for writing by and about indigenous peoples (Ser. Indigenous collection). Brush Education