WOMEN in ​PUBLISHING

BAWiP’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
June, 2021:

BAWiP is committed to cultivating a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible publishing industry. We define “diverse” as inclusive of race, gender, ability, age, beliefs, identity, sexuality, national origin, and professional and life experience. 

Assessment and Reporting: In order to make progress on our DEI goals, we need to be assessing where we are and reporting on our progress. We commit to annual surveys of our board, committee members, and general membership. And we commit to reporting annually on progress (or lack thereof) via our website and newsletter, to keep ourselves accountable for results.

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To that end, we have set these agreements and goals:

Membership: 
Our goal is to support, reflect, and meet the needs of a membership body that reflects the diversity of the Bay Area. To meet this goal, we will focus on proactive recruitment of a diverse membership and a commitment to regularly surveying, listening to, and responding to the needs of our members of color. We will actively recruit in 2021, and will survey members in early September of 2021 (and annually) to advocate for their needs in planning our programming. Our goal will be at least 25% members of color by December 2021 and at least 35% members of color by the end of 2022.

Board Composition: Our goal is to achieve a diverse board makeup with at least 40% representation by traditionally underrepresented people in the publishing industry (including 30% representation by BIPOC women) by September, 2021. We are working toward this goal by actively recruiting committee and task force members to build a pipeline to full board service.

• Current status: 30% of board members identify as BIPOC. 50% identify as LGBTQ+. 10% identify as living with a disability.

Speakers: We are committed to prioritizing diverse speaker-panels for our educational events. Our goal is 40% of speakers consistently self-identify as from communities traditionally underrepresented publishing (including 30% representation by BIPOC folks) measured by board year.

• Current status: For the 2020-2021 board year, 38% of our hosted speakers identify as BIPOC, with another two scheduled. 

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Robin Seaman Award Program: Our goal is to be a diverse committee made up of at least 50% of traditionally underrepresented people in the publishing industry who will lead and execute the Robin Seaman Award. We are committed to seeking in both applicants and judges, the inclusion practices we establish in our own committee: at least 50% from an underrepresented group in publishing. Judges for the Robin Seaman Award will be encouraged to take an implicit association test and must adhere to established rules and criteria for evaluating our applicants.

• Current status: 83% of our committee self-identify as from an underrepresented group in publishing. We currently do not have any judges or recipients at this time.

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Accessibility: We are committed to ensuring that our website and materials are accessible by people with disabilities. To this end, we are reviewing and revising our website and plan to implement WCAG 2.1 standards by December 31, 2021 date.

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Mentorship: Given that the publishing industry is stubbornly dominated by white folks, we believe it’s critical to support the entry and advancement of BIPOC professionals. To this end, we have prioritized the selection of BIPOC applicants to our mentorship program and have set the goal that 50% of our mentees self-identify as BIPOC. 

• Current status: 75% of our inaugural mentee cohort self-identify as BIPOC.

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Affinity Groups: We are committed to creating safe spaces where BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ folks can gather and support each other. To this end, we have sponsored the formation of BIPOC and Queer affinity groups that are open, not just to BAWiP members, but to all interested participants. An Affinity Group strategic plan is currently in development.

• Current status: Both the BIPOC and Queer affinity groups have been meeting every other month since August 2020. The BIPOC affinity group currently has a membership of 20 and the Queer affinity group has a membership of five. We hope to increase membership by 15% by November 1, 2021.