Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of posts that will run this week, written by Randy Townsend, Damita Snow, and Maxine Aldred. Damita is Director for Accessibility and DEI Strategy for ASCE Publications & Standards at the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and leads meaningful efforts within the division and across the editorial ecosystem to advance diversity, expand accessibility, foster inclusive practices, and ensure equitable policies and guidelines. Maxine is Director of the Publications Production at ASCE, where she manages staff, budgets, and vendors, in addition to providing oversight and direction for 35 scientific journals and more than 50 books annually. The authors have made the Summit resources available for you to access. Part 1 is available here.

In the first post of this 3-part series, we reflected on the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) Pathways to Inclusive Publishing Summit from the vantage point of the attendees. We learned which themes resonated with them, what messages inspired ideas, and what initiatives reaffirmed their commitment to inclusive publishing. Part 1 touched on the intersection of technological obstacles and accessible practices, building networks, and reinforcing equitable communities with shared principles.  

In the next post of the series, we go below the surface structure and share candid interviews with Summit presenters who bravely answered the call to share their experiences, initiatives, and insights. To protect the guest authors who contributed to this post from threats or persecution, their identities have been kept anonymous.

What inspired you to participate at the Summit as a presenter?

(Answer) Both Damita (Snow) and Maxine (Aldred) from ASCE, let me know that what my organization is doing with accessibility and more broadly DEI in both book and journal production, was important and worth taking the time to talk about so others know there is no easy way to get started, you just have to get started.

(Answer) For years, I had been working on various accessibility initiatives behind the scenes, whether it was working through early epub conversions back when zoning images, destructive scanning, and OCR were the only good methods, to more integrated accessibility workflows where authors, editors, and web-platform vendors collaborate to prioritize reading by all. I wanted to actually talk honestly about what hasn’t worked, not just the wins.

Why is diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility work important to you personally or within your organization?

(Answer) It’s important for different voices to be heard and feel welcome – it’s the only way to grow and ensure the conversations, within the scholarly community, are robust, fulsome, and inclusive.

(Answer) This work hits home for me personally. I’m an African American, gay, woman so, it’s incredibly important to me to use my voice in spaces where in the past, there was no space for someone like me. And also open the door for others to make sure their voices are heard. There is so much we can learn from one another and I think it’s important to the work we do to allow those voices to be heard.

(Answer) Science moves incrementally. Until it doesn’t. And a new world opens up with a massive paradigm shift. But those shifts can come from anywhere. And anyone. It is our responsibility as science communicators to make sure we include as many people as possible.

What message(s) from your presentation did you hope attendees would take away from the session?

(Answer) We aimed to share that DEIA efforts are still surviving and thriving, and while there are particular constraints at this time, DEIA committees in publishing are newly beginning, being revitalized, and continuing on in their work.

(Answer) I hoped attendees were able to find a starting point to their journey in adding accessibility elements to their publications. And if they had already started, I hope they found an ally in the pursuit of DEIA and support systems for them to continue their work.

(Answer) My biggest message is that compliance is a fundamentally different thing than being useful. Compliance is relatively simple; it’s tick marks on a list. But usefulness is a far different goal that takes time, patience, and determination. Our main goals as a publisher when I started in this industry was to make pretty pages, optimized for reading the printed page. Layouts were honed over centuries, designed for people reading silently. But there are people who learn differently, who consume content differently, and we need to think about how to get science into as many hands, and minds, as possible.

Was there a particular idea or insight you hoped would resonate with people after the Summit ended? 

(Answer) Impact does not always require sweeping structural change to begin. Small, intentional actions such as revisiting policies, ensuring our communications are inclusive, or gathering better data can create momentum and open the door to larger transformation over time.

(Answer) This work doesn’t need you to know every single thing about diversity, inclusion, equity, and accessibility – it just needs you to show up as you are, to learn and contribute what you can.

(Answer) If anything, I was just hoping to convey that working in the DEIA space isn’t easy but it’s rewarding in ways you can’t imagine. Knowing you played an active role in making sure your publications are accessible to as many readers as possible is an amazing feeling. Even if it feels incredibly difficult to get started and maybe even out of your expertise, there is support for anyone who makes this a priority for their association.

(Answer) I really wanted people to use my alt-text writing use case as a study in how to think differently about how we manage workflows. The question I wanted to leave them with: if alt-text is a format meant to be heard rather than seen, what processes and systems do we need to change so that authors and editors naturally shift from making beautiful images to making truly engaging, multi-modal content?

What can organizations do to ensure that commitments to DEIA remain a priority over time, even as circumstances or leadership change? 

(Answer) Sustaining DEIA commitments requires embedding them into institutional processes rather than tying them to individual champions. This can include formalizing policies, incorporating DEIA metrics into strategic planning, or investing in training. While the past year has been challenging in many ways, including navigating how to continue this work, having DEIA as a core part of our strategic plan allows us to remain intentional and accountable in our efforts, even amid uncertainty.

(Answer) Continue to provide staff the space and opportunities to meaningfully engage with DEIA – whether it’s encouraging committee work, curating a staff-led DEIA library or book club, or organizing social outings to DEIA events.

(Answer) Personally, for DEIA to be a priority, it needs to come from the top. If your organization is committed to DEIA your work, you’ll have more opportunities to explore what’s available. However, I know that’s not everyone’s experience. So, if that support isn’t coming from the top, that doesn’t mean you can’t still commit to DEIA. You just might need to understand what the focus of your organization is and speak through that lens. For instance, if your organization’s priority is sales. One can argue that having accessible EPUB files with accurate metadata helps with the sale of that format by broadening your customer base. The fact is DEIA aligns with a lot of goals outside of “doing what’s right” so, it’s important to be able to speak to that when circumstances or leadership changes.

(Answer) For us, it starts with a simple reminder: our scope by nature is diverse — it spans every ecosystem, every population, every corner of the planet. Our publishing activities need to be equally as rich and inclusive. And that’s true for any scientific publisher. The subject matter itself demands it.

What impact do events like this Summit have on the scholarly publishing community (or broader professional community)?

(Answer) Events like this give people the opportunity to step out of the day‑to‑day pressures of their roles and reflect together. This is something that’s especially hard to prioritize during challenging political and social times. In many organizations right now, DEIA work can feel risky to discuss openly, particularly when resources are constrained or priorities are shifting. The summit, and other events like this, normalize these conversations by making it clear that others are grappling with the same barriers and uncertainties. From the very beginning, it was clear that this was a safe and supportive space to have those discussions.

(Answer) Having an opportunity like the Summit to share our work was a wonderful opportunity to see in real time the enthusiasm our community holds for DEIA work. It was a true gift to feel connected to the wider scholarly publishing community.

(Answer) I think the impact is significant. I was at the London Book Fair and on several occasions, I was spotted as a presenter on the Summit and then asked follow-up questions about how we’re making our content accessible. It’s clear to me that people have questions but are not sure where to go for answers. So, this Summit allowed for a safe environment for people to learn from one another.

(Answer) Such events inspire and energize the whole community. Honestly, these events get me through the dark times and remind me there is still hope, even in small discrete improvements.

How can we continue the momentum from the Summit and translate the conversations into meaningful action?

(Answer) We can start by bringing what we learned, even just the little tidbits that stuck out, into our everyday work.

(Answer) The majority of the follow-up questions I received were about how to do something. How to add alt-text, how to add translations to abstracts, how to make sure you’re feeding out the correct metadata. Providing some practical steps for attendees to act on might be a great way to move into meaningful action.

(Answer) Build it into your procurement conversations, your author guidelines, your peer review criteria. Accessibility can’t live only in dedicated summits — it has to show up in the unglamorous operational decisions too.

If you could leave the community with one call to action after the Summit, what would it be?

(Answer) Don’t be discouraged and keep going. The world is a lot right now but attending the Summit reminded me there are a lot of organizations working to make their space as inclusive and equitable as possible. So, you’re not alone and the work you do matters. Please don’t forget that.

(Answer) The next time you’re making a workflow decision, ask whether it makes accessibility easier or harder. That’s it. Just ask the question.