Championing a more equitable and inclusive world At BMJ Group, we understand the role journals need to – and can – play in creating a more positive, equitable, diverse and inclusive (EDI) environment for women and underrepresented groups in research, clinical practice and scholarly publishing.
Here are some of the things we’ve done so far – and our work continues:
Voicing opposition to racism: The BMJ ’s landmark Racism in Medicine issue and ongoing coverage on the topic. No ‘manels’ policy: mandating editors and staff to avoid male-only panels. Removing barriers: expanded waiver and discount policy for authors from low and middle income countries to publish open access in our journals, and increased access for HINARI institutions. Author name change policy: empowering trans scholars and others to update their published work.
Staff-led editorial EDI workstream: advancing EDI in journals and editorial practices. Formation of an internal EDI steering group: BMJ Group staff coordinating and advocating for EDI initiatives. Collecting EDI data: benchmarking diversity for improved equity and inclusion. Publishing editorial diversity research: transparency on the gender and geographic distribution of authors, reviewers, and editors.
Inclusive language commitment: updating style guides and including warnings on historical offensive content. Educational webinars on diversity: empowering editors to diversify editorial boards and published content. Aiming for gender parity on editorial boards: a focus on achieving gender equality and reducing bias. Member of the Joint Committee for Action on Inclusion and Diversity in Publishing: a cross-industry initiative to enhance EDI.
There is still a lot more we need to do to bring about real, tangible change in the research and publication process. We need to make it fairer, more just, and equitable to enable all researchers and clinicians to publish their work no matter their background, to improve clinical practice and patient care, and ultimately to make a healthier world for everyone.
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