2023/10/03 by Gemma Reguera · 1 voice
Health Professions · Social Sciences · #Diversity and Career in Medicine #Global Health Workforce Issues
paper · doi:10.1128/aem.01402-23
openalex publication_date 2023/10/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
DEIW hen I stepped in as editor in chief of Applied and Environmental Microbiology (AEM) in 2021, I had a clear mission: to make AEM a community journal driven by best practices in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).I am proud to lead a team of editors representing countries from all over the world, a global outreach that mirrors the large international membership of our society and the many authors and readers that we serve in and outside the United States.Despite our international scope, access to our editorial board remains a bottleneck to diversification.To remediate this, I conducted in 2021 an open call for editors that achieved, for the first time in the journal's history, parity among women and men editors.Women's representation on journals' editorial boards matters; it influences the number of manuscripts from women authors and the engagement of women scholars during the review process (1, 2).Achieving numerical parity in editorial boards does not automatically remove unconscious bias from scientific publishing (3).Education and training are key to awareness and implementing best practices.Hence, I meet monthly with the team of editors to educate ourselves about unconscious biases (gender, racial, linguistic, geographic, competence, institutional, etc.,) that are insidious to the peer review process.Furthermore, we work as a team to implement measures that minimize the exclusionary impact of biases on our authors.Many of these initiatives have now been adopted by other journals within the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) family, who share with us a commitment to inclusive practices in scholarly publishing.However, more is needed.Maintaining the high quality of the science we publish across the many topics within AEM's scope requires the involvement of many expert reviewers.AEM editors and reviewers work together as a team to advance the understanding of all aspects of applied and environ mental microbiology and to publish rigorous research upon which other scientists may build.How can we ensure synchrony among editors and reviewers to maintain a culture of inclusivity at AEM? A dedicated board of reviewers carefully selected by the merit of their members and alliance with our values is a pillar of these efforts.I am delighted to share new initiatives for board membership and recognition toward this goal.