Women Leaders in Scholarly Publishing: Empowering Self and Inspiring Others
Thursday, October 24, 2024
11 am-Noon ET
In the 18 years when a generation grows up from child to adult, corresponding societal improvements happen at a slower-than-desired pace. Initiatives to achieve diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) goals have gained momentum but are still a work in progress in many professional arenas. A recent C4DISC Survey on Workplace Equity in Scholarly Communications notes progress since its first edition from 5 years ago, but also continuing challenges. Among the focus areas for improving equity identified by the survey were promotion structures and processes and support for return from career breaks. The survey notes that leadership structure did not reflect the demographic breakdown of its own workforce.
The field of scholarly publishing faces significant challenges related to DEIA, and gender is one critical dimension that demands attention. While women are in many roles within publishing, there are too few leading publishing houses. Improvement is needed, and this session focuses on the role of women in leadership. In an area where we know gender disparities persist, it is heartening to recognize that women are at the forefront, leading the way in various roles.
Today’s speakers occupy key leadership positions across different domains within scholarly publishing. We cordially invite you to join us to engage with this panel of women leaders. Our primary goal is to inspire and empower others within the industry by sharing experiences and insights. We hope to encourage more women to follow in these remarkable footsteps.
Moderator
Anjana Sankara Narayanan, Acquisitions Editor, Standards, ASCE
Anjana Sankara Narayanan is the Acquisitions Editor for Standards at the American Society of Civil Engineers. She has more than 20 years of experience in the publishing industry, most of it with engineering associations. Starting her career as a copy editor for academic journals in India, she has held roles of increasing responsibility in editorial management over the years in the UK and US. She was previously manager for publishing and production at ISACA and editorial manager for magazines at SPE. Sankara Narayanan’s areas of interest include content management, volunteer engagement, latest trends in publishing technology, and content strategy.
Speakers
Roohi Ghosh, Ambassador, Researcher Outreach, Engagement, and Success, Cactus Communications
Roohi Ghosh is the ambassador for researcher success at Cactus Communications (CACTUS). She is passionate about advocating for researchers and amplifying their voices on a global stage. With over 17 years of experience in the field, she understands the unique challenges that researchers face and the importance of their work in advancing knowledge and improving society. Through strategic outreach and engagement efforts, she works to build bridges between researchers and other stakeholders in academia to foster productive partnerships that lead to greater success and impact for the research community. She co-chairs the Peer Review Week committee, ALPSP’s Open Peer Review Special Interest Group and the EASE India Chapter and serves on various other committees, including the Scholarly Kitchen Cabinet.
Sarah Phibbs serves as STM’s Director of Research4Life Publisher Partnerships, working to foster global research equity by enabling reciprocal, diverse, and rich scholarly exchange. She is actively supporting STM’s Diversity & Inclusion Task & Finish Group on developing recommendations from the recent D & I Survey of STM committees and boards.
Sarah also works as a consultant for societies and publishers focusing on sustainable publishing, strategy, and innovation. Previously, she was Wiley’s Vice President for society research publishing across life, health, physical and social science & humanities and ran Global Social Science & Humanities Research at Blackwell.
Sarah sits on the Board at Edinburgh University Press and has recently completed a Global MBA at Oxford Brookes University. She has also volunteered with local mental health charity MIND and the ‘Big Gig’, a forum for entrepreneurs on start-up strategy.
Mia Ricci, Director, Publications Operations, American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Mia Ricci is the Director of Publications Operations at the American Geophysical Union where she oversees the strategic management, editorial offices, and publishing operations of AGU’s 24 scientific journals and the ESS Open Archive, AGU’s preprint and community server. She also leads the DEIA efforts for AGU’s publications, is a member of the Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP) Board of Directors, and currently serves in committees for the Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communication (C4DISC), the Council of Science Editors (CSE), and the Joint Commitment for Action on Inclusion and Diversity in Publishing. She is a member of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Geosciences (AAPIiG) and was the co-founder of Wiley’s Asian and Pacific Islander Employee Resource Group.
Simone Taylor, Chief of Publishing Operations, American Psychiatric Association
From a background in scientific research, Simone started her publishing career at Elsevier. Via the National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom), Wiley, and AIP Publishing, she has developed considerable international experience in leading adaptive and transformational change.
Simone is passionate about helping authors maintain records of their work in the scientific literature and is a keen advocate for improving global accessibility to the published body of knowledge. She has served on cross-industry teams that implemented data citation principles and standardized data policy. She also works to deliver more equitable outcomes in compensation and career advancement for marginalized groups in the workforce.
Simone currently serves as Publisher and Chief of Publishing Operations at the American Psychiatric Association, providing strategic direction and leadership for APA’s publishing program.
SSP is proud to be a founding member of the Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications. Learn more about C4DISC.
