Gender Equality

Our mission is to help science and healthcare realize its full potential through quality content, data, analytics and inclusion. But if research has blind spots, algorithms discriminate, or medical treatments don't take into consideration the gender dimension of research, we cannot truly serve our communities. By bringing together the best minds, cooperating on meaningful partnerships and supporting inclusive initiatives, we will be able to truly collaborate for the good of society

Explore our initiatives, and browse our growing portfolio of gender-related journals and books.

Gender equity in science is not only a matter of justice and rights but is crucial to producing the best research and the best care for patients.

^{Kumsal Bayazit, Elsevier CEO}

Our engagement

OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Women in Science Awards

Since 2010, the Women in Science Awards recognize researchers who have made significant contributions to the advancement of scientific knowledge, aiming to increase the influence of women doing high-level science in the developing world. The premise is simple: the more diverse the pool of scientists, the more robust the science.

Harvard Data Science Initiative

As evidence mounts, it’s easy to make a case for gender diversity in academia – but harder to make it happen. Colleagues from Harvard, Elsevier and the NSF are developing data science projects to address the challenges faced by women in academia. Watch Elsevier CEP Kumsal Bayazit's presentation: "Data-Driven Approaches to Diversity and Inclusion".

Gender Summits

We have been supporters of the Gender Summits since 2011. They serve as forum for researchers, institutions and policymakers to “make gender equality in science and research the norm and promote the inclusion of the gender dimension in STEM research”, as underscored by Dr. Elizabeth Pollitzer, founder of the Gender Summits and a member of our I&D Board.

Our initiatives

Conferences

In 4 years, we have increased the participation of women invited speakers at about 50 Elsevier conferences from 15% to 32% and we continue to work towards greater gender diversity for speakers and conference attendance overall.

Editorial Boards

Looking at the family of Elsevier’s journals, women leadership roles make up for 25% of available Editor-in-Chief roles, which clearly presents an opportunity for further discussion and improvement. We have initiated a qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with nine women Editors-in-Chief.

Gender Equity at Cell Press

Cell has defined an objective of widening their reviewer pool, as part of a broader gender and inclusion initiative. Cell Host & Microbe pledges to build gender equity in all aspect of the journal, new research from Trends in Cognitive Sciences looks at reducing citation bias, and Cell Metabolism wrote about their 'Rosie project'.

Gender Equity at The Lancet

The Lancet has established a 50:50 gender ratio for its Board, as part of a broader gender and inclusion initiative. The 2019 issue on advancing women in science, medicine and global health contains evidence on forms of gender bias in funding; women’s attrition in clinical training programs; and the production of sex/gender-related research.

The Lancet Gender Equality and Health Collection

The Lancet's EClinicalMedicine Gender Equality and Health Collection is a commitment to fight gender disparities and inequality across the world. It highlights the need for change, with a multi-pronged focus on women, communities and health systems.

Peer review

We are committed to addressing biases in peer review and have set up a process for tracking gender across all of Elsevier journals to measure progress. In 2020 we also co-authored a study on systematic gender bias in peer review at large scale, with complete data on 145 journals in various fields of research.

Joint commitment for action on inclusion and diversity in publishing

In 2020 we joined publishers of more than 4,400 scholarly journals and tens of thousands of books in a landmark commitment to reduce bias — initiated by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Unconscious bias

We have identified tools, resources and articles to improve the understanding of UB and track representation in the publishing process to address gender bias. We strive for maximum transparency, and actively educate our staff, editors and reviewers.

Webinars

19th Gender Summit - Global for SDGs

This free, virtual Gender Summit aims to identify gender knowledge that can be applied already and the knowledge that is still missing but is necessary to accelerate progress across all SDGs - ensuring that the improvement made will benefit women and men equally.

How to integrate sex, gender & intersectional analysis into research

In this webinar, experts speak on how researchers can integrate sex, gender, and intersectional analysis into the design of their research, where relevant, can lead to discovery and improved research methodology.

Gender Bias in academic publishing

This Researcher Academy webinar discusses exactly what unconscious bias is, how to check for it and how to avoid it. They share data highlighting the problem in academic publishing and explore recent efforts to make the publishing process more equitable for all.

Supporting research

Women's & Gender Studies Research Network

This SSRN network provides access to research, scholarship and policy about women and gender, to share and build knowledge on women’s rights and equality, gender identity & representation, including men’s studies and queer studies.

Gender in the Global Research Landscape Library

A diverse set of references and resources related to gender equity in research. This community resource is intended to foster the dissemination of empirical studies and inform evidence-based intervention and policy development.

Gender and COVID-19 Library

A collection of research, studies and other references covering the sex & gender dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

Inside Elsevier

Gender working group

The Gender Working group is an integral part of our sustainability roadmap and rigorously examines key publishing processes and principles within Elsevier, recommending targeted interventions to ensure that we produce the most robust research possible in the most equitable and inclusive way.

Thrive

Thrive is the employee resource group that highlights the talent that women bring to the company. Thrive's goal is to promote professional progress for all women in Elsevier through advocacy, education and information - and to provide global and local networking, mentoring and development opportunities.