In a commitment to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), AIP Publishing established a DEI Committee in 2020, setting ambitious targets to enhance the representation of diverse voices within the organization and its publishing programs. The overarching goal was to ensure fair representation across communities, providing equal opportunities for contributors from various backgrounds and enriching content with a broader array of perspectives from authors, reviewers, and editors.
To gauge the progress and impact of these initiatives, AIP Publishing, in collaboration with its publishing partners, undertook a comprehensive benchmarking exercise. The forthcoming report encompasses high-level data spanning the geographic, gender, and ethnic diversity of authors, reviewers, board members, and editors across AIP Publishing journals and partner journals, including those from the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), The Structural Science Society (ACA), AVS: Science & Technology of Materials Interfaces, and Processing (AVS), and The Society of Rheology (SOR).
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are pivotal aspects of creating an inclusive scholarly environment. To achieve this, AIP Publishing delved into the complex task of data collection, aiming to provide a comprehensive view of the demographic landscape. As part of the Joint Commitment for Action on Inclusion and Diversity in Publishing, the organization considered various approaches to gather and share data, recognizing the importance of inclusivity and accuracy.
Addressing privacy concerns, AIP Publishing ensured GDPR compliance and privacy regulations adherence, producing an aggregate and anonymized results set for safe reporting. To maintain accuracy, secure access to individual records for selected AIP Publishing stakeholders facilitated manual spot-checking.
Despite the complexity of the process, AIP Publishing achieved a 93% match for gender and a 94% match for ethnicity through manual data verification, instilling confidence in the validity of the findings. While recognizing the limitations, such as binary gender classification and broad ethnicity categories, the organization is poised to share the report soon, providing insights into the progress and implications of the benchmarking exercise.
Looking ahead, AIP Publishing remains committed to transparency and progress, with plans to implement a consistent self-reporting system through PXP. The organization expresses gratitude to its team members and partners for their contributions to this monumental undertaking and emphasizes a continued commitment to keeping the community informed about ongoing efforts and advancements.
Click here to read the original press release.
