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Equitable Peer Review

This peer review equity toolkit is for IU ScholarWorks journal editorial teams and anyone interested in equitable peer review. It covers best practices regarding policies, references, transparency, editorial boards, and reducing bias in peer review.

Cultivate Diverse Editorial Boards

The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) argues that “one way of improving the diversity of the reviewer pool is to have a diverse editorial board.” COPE goes on to suggest that “[i]f editorial boards are as diverse as possible, this will have a beneficial effect on obtaining a broader and more diverse pool of reviewers.” (COPE Discussion Topic: Bias in Peer Review)

The Iowa State University Digital Press likewise encourages journal editors to “build editorial boards and peer reviewer pools that are inclusive of a diversity of identities, geographies, perspectives, and lived experiences appropriate to the scope of the journal” (Iowa State University Digital Press Diversity Statement).

COPE also provides specific recommendations on how to diversify journal editorial boards. These recommendations include:

  • Be proactive – don’t rely on your existing networks, be prepared to reach out broadly and seek out candidates from under-represented groups.
  • Approach early career researchers and others who have contributed to the journal as reviewers or authors.
  • Ask existing board members for nominations from groups not currently well-represented on the board.
  • Approach people who you have seen presenting at conferences or workshops, or whose work you have read.
  • Advertise vacancies for editorial positions.
  • Involve others in the decision-making, in order to mitigate any unconscious biases.
  • Put diversity targets in place in order to hold yourself and your editorial board to account over time. 
  • Think about the gender and ethnic mix within your particular field – your board should at a minimum reflect this. 
  • Appoint one or more board members to act as diversity champions, who can actively support your aims.
  • Put fixed terms in place for editorial board members, enabling you to regularly review and refresh your board.
  • Think broadly about the areas of expertise you’d like to see represented on the board, and proactively seek out individuals with those areas of expertise.
  • Challenge yourself and check your assumptions – for example about institutional location, professional status and language skills.