Cell’s publisher invites statements in papers about studies’ diversity and inclusion efforts
Jan. 14, 2021 , 10:05 AM
After reading a paper about Amazonian frogs in May 2020, behavioral ecologist Daniela Roessler of Harvard University was astonished. The study named 27 authors, all male. The publication sparked an outcry on Twitter for more diversity in science. Roessler and colleagues then wrote a letter to journal publishers suggesting a way for authors to help advance that goal: publicly declare in their submitted manuscripts whether they had considered diversity, equity, and inclusion in the study.
Last week, Cell Press, publisher of more than 50 journals, became one of the first publlshers to invite authors to do so. The publisher whose titles include the prestigious
Scientists who publish in Cell Press research journals (e.g.,
Cell, Joule, Current Biology, etc.) will now have the option to include a short statement that highlights elements of the study design and/or author characteristics that are relevant to inclusion and diversity. The statement is generated based on information provided on a dedicated inclusion and diversity form that study authors complete as part of the acceptance process. This pilot initiative will also allow Cell Press to better collect, analyze, and share back data about research teams general inclusion and diversity efforts. In an ideal world, science would cover and be conducted by as broad a range of individuals as exist in global society, with everyone who wants to participate both being and feeling welcomed as part of the overall scientific community. Currently, however, the scientific enterprise is a long way from such inclusion and diversity, says Anne Kitson, Managing Director, Cell Press and The Lancet. W