In August 2021 the Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communication (C4DISC) released a comprehensive and practical guide to help publishers and other scholarly communication organizations engage in the process of becoming anti-racist. The Antiracism Toolkit for Organizations introduces the problem of white supremacy and why counteracting it is an ethical as well as a business imperative. Diversity expresses representation, while antiracism addresses systems and practices that give preference and moral weight to whiteness. The “path to becoming an antiracist organization” details specific actions organizations can take to make an equitable workplace. These embedded efforts, such as:
- antiracist recruitment and hiring practices,
- paid internships,
- staff equity training,
- budgeting for DEI,
- employee progression and retention
are well-connected to organizational leadership but they are distributed throughout the organization.
The toolkit details how measurement and metrics can be used to support the process of becoming an antiracist organization. It also focuses on how to create positive environments for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) to avoid burnout and nurture their participation in the organization. Code switching, authenticity, intersectionality and disability are addressed here. Examining organizational culture is key to focusing on the needs of BIPOC individuals and de-centering the feelings of white people.
The toolkit provides policies, case studies and stories from within scholarly communication organizations and a generous list of resources. For libraries who have publishing services, this toolkit can serve as a bible. For libraries that collaborate with and employ publishers and other scholarly communication service providers, the toolkit provides benchmarks with which to measure alignment with antiracist values and practices.
