The Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications (C4DISC) has released a new resource developed in response to the evolving political landscape surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The guidance document, aimed at professional membership communities, was produced following a Rapid Response Day convened by C4DISC in February 2025, during which participants from across the scholarly communications sector collaborated to identify emerging priorities and share strategies.
The resulting document, Guidance for Professional Membership Communities, was created through a crowdsourcing process initiated during the event and extended over the subsequent two weeks. Unlike C4DISC’s more formally produced Toolkits for Equity, this resource has not undergone editorial or peer review. Due to the urgency of the topic and the rapidly shifting external environment, the organization chose to make the document publicly available in its current form, hosted in a Google Doc to allow for ongoing updates.
The guidance is intended to support member-led organizations and similar communities that seek to sustain DEI efforts amid increasing political and legal constraints. It emphasizes the role of professional associations—particularly those with decentralized governance and wide-reaching member networks—in continuing to advance equity and inclusion practices at a time when other sectors, including academic institutions, corporations, and nonprofits, may face legal or financial limitations.
Click here to read the original press release.
