Journalism plays an essential role in the free exchange of ideas, in broad social and political accountability, and in the function of our democracy. But the field itself lacks critical demographic representation. This is also true in science journalism, which plays a pivotal role in our understanding of complex human stories spanning from public health to climate change.
A multitude of barriers have historically limited who can choose to pursue a journalism career and has implications for what stories get told, who is quoted, and which communities benefit from the work of journalism. Inequity is both the cause and the result.
As an organization that strives to be a leader in journalism, we take seriously our responsibility to address inequities and lead by example by establishing and codifying practices and processes that ensure that values of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) remain forefront in our work, from how we recruit for, select, and mentor early-career fellows and other contributors, to how we select and frame our editorial content, to how we design courses and workshops. We strive to improve representation in the field of science journalism and eliminate inequities in the work we do.
How We Define Equity
For The Open Notebook, equity means ensuring that all individuals, regardless of their background or identity, can access the opportunities, resources, and support they need to succeed within the field of science journalism. This involves creating a welcoming and inclusive environment, reducing barriers, ensuring accessibility, fostering diversity, and continuously striving to improve and uphold these principles through thoughtful policies, programs, and practices.
How We Work to Achieve Equity
Our diverse board, editorial team, and contributors reflect our commitment to achieving equity. We’ve also crafted internal policies and practices to be consistent with our DEI goals and so they can serve as a model for other media outlets.
Board, Staff, and Contributor Representation
- We’ve assembled a diverse board and staff and have built networks to ensure the sustainability of our approach.
- We’ve developed equitable hiring practices and procedures to improve representation among our writers and editors.
- We offer equitable and transparent compensation and benefits, including by paying fair rates to all contractors; by covering international bank fees so there’s no “tax” on international writers; and by paying full fees for killed stories.
Workplace Culture, Policies, and Practices
- We foster an inclusive workplace culture, and learning environment, in which everyone is empowered to contribute to their fullest potential and to influence workplace policies and culture.
- We offer flexible working arrangements to accommodate needs.
Programs
- Our resources expand access to high-quality guidance and skills-development training, and include articles, translations, courses, and mentoring programs that are free to anyone, anywhere in the world.
- We address the needs of and include voices from underrepresented journalists and communities, including by:
- Publishing more than 50 articles and resource pages that center issues of diversity, equity and inclusion, such as transgender-inclusive reporting, eliminating ableist language from writing, covering health care disparities, including Indigenous science in reporting, and more
- Translating 20-30 articles per year into Spanish
- Offering intensive early-career mentoring aimed at increasing the diversity of voices covering science and supporting early- and mid-career journalists from historically underrepresented communities or who have faced higher than average barriers to entry into the field
- Mentoring and supporting journalists from the Global South
- Hosting a Slack community of 200+ science journalists who are current, past, or aspiring international students, where they can share information and advice
- Our writers and editors receive ongoing guidance and support, informed by diverse perspectives and experiences, including how to avoid stereotypes and biased narratives, use inclusive language and imagery, and consult diverse sources.
- We offer resource pages to guide reporters toward inclusive journalistic practices, including a compilation of diversity style guides, a guide to finding diverse sources for science stories, and a guide and sample survey for newsrooms to track source diversity.
- We have developed policies and practices to ensure diverse candidate pools and selection process for mentoring programs and fellowships, including through an application process designed to avoid perpetuating bias and inequities. For example, a majority of the journalists who have taken part in our flagship early-career fellowship program since it began in 2013 are from historically underrepresented communities.
Partnerships and Community Relations
- We build and sustain partnerships with organizations that are led by and serve people from marginalized groups.
- We regularly collaborate with or participate in DEI-focused initiatives and groups.
- We maintain a global Science Writers Database to support a diverse and international community of science writers, making it easier for editors and other stakeholders to find and collaborate with diverse talent.
- We decline participation in panels, workshops, or planning committees that lack diversity, and say why.
- We maintain individual or organizational membership in multiple affinity groups.
How We Hold Ourselves Accountable for Progress Toward Equity Goals
Achieving equity requires not only setting (and periodically revisiting) goals but also holding ourselves accountable for meeting those goals across all aspects of our programs, operations, and governance. Our accountability measures include:
Setting Measurable Goals
These are designed to drive progress in areas such as board representation, hiring practices, editorial content, program management, and community engagement.
Regular Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting
We conduct regular assessments and audits to monitor our progress towards our DEI goals. We also actively solicit feedback from our staff, contributors, audiences, and community partners to understand their perspectives and experiences. This feedback is crucial for identifying gaps and opportunities for growth in our DEI practices.
Resource Allocation
We dedicate time, funding, and personnel to support our DEI initiatives. This ensures that our commitment to equity is backed by tangible investments in programs and practices that enable us to steadily move toward fulfilling our commitment to equity.
Policies
- We’ve put an employment policy into place to codify generous leave time and other workplace policies.
- Our Whistleblower Policy provides a clear avenue for anyone at The Open Notebook to report ethics concerns, violations, or suspected violations without fear of retaliation.
Leadership Accountability
The leadership team is committed to DEI and is held accountable for implementing and advancing our DEI initiatives, including regular discussion of DEI goals as part of strategic conversations among board and staff, incorporating those goals into performance evaluations, and ensuring that leaders model inclusive behavior.