Embracing the role of the reviewer: developing diverse, equitable, and inclusive peer review teams

The act of peer reviewing is central to the publishing process. Peer review enables ‘peers’ to ensure that quality research is published, that research is coherent, and that research adds to the body of academic knowledge. Peer reviewers are individuals that protect the integrity of the academic record, elevate the quality of the work they review, and challenge their peers to higher standards of research and scholarly communication. At SAGE Publishing we are excited to celebrate this year’s Peer Review Week theme “identity in peer review.” Diverse voices, opinions, and perspectives are what makes peer review successful. SAGE Publishing acknowledges its role as a publisher to make representation and scholarship more diverse, equitable and inclusive and has contributed recommendations to the journal community ways in which to diversify journal editorial boards. Editorial diversity can have a profoundly positive impact on the peer review process in several ways:

  • Offer new perspectives and solutions for improving the peer review process

  • Reduce bias in the reviewer selection process, emphasis on matching research experience of reviewers to manuscripts for review

  • Increase diversity of reviewer pools

  • Increase training opportunities for new reviewers

  • Provide global perspectives which in turn can advance scientific truth and knowledge

SAGE Publishing offers reviewer training opportunities and extensive resources to anyone interested in peer review in the SAGE Reviewer Gateway. As a token of gratitude to those which participate in peer review, SAGE Publishing also offers reviewer rewards and Editorial Board Member benefits.

To celebrate the importance of personal and social identity in peer review, several of SAGE Publishing’s Managing Editors who work on Open Access journals would like to share the actions they have taken to create more diverse, equitable, and inclusive peer review ecosystems for the journals they manage.

Jim Baldwin, Managing Editor for the journal Advances in Mechanical Engineering

  • Focusing on increasing female representation of the journal Editorial Board, which plays a large role in the peer review process. The goal has been to diversify the Editorial Board to reflect gender diversity in engineering disciplines. The board currently has 28% female representation, and the aim is to reach 50%.

Bailey Baumann, Managing Editor and Sara Parker and Christa Walker, Editors for the journal SAGE Open

  • Recruiting a diverse group of Section Editors to act as leaders of the global, 500+ member editorial board and ambassadors for the journal.

  • Asking review teams to evaluate submissions based on research quality rather than perceived novelty or significance to encourage smaller studies and replication studies that make their own unique contributions to the literature.

  • Streamlining the process for adding new members to the growing pool of volunteer reviewers which is open to anyone with relevant interests and expertise.

Sevda Dogan, Managing Editor for the journals Air, Soil and Water Research, Chronic Stress, Environmental Health Insights, Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Microbiology Insights, and Rare Tumors

  • Comprehensive analysis of Editorial Board diversity and strategically identifying new candidates to increase diversity. Identified approximately 30 candidates across all journals.

  • Communicated to all journal Editors SAGE’s DEI initiatives and goals to increase Editorial Board diversity.

  • Working with journal Editors to recruit new Editorial Board Members with an emphasis on gender and geographic diversity.

  • Jennifer Lovick and Applonia Rose, Managing Editors for the journals Cancer Control and Technology in Cancer Research & Treatment

  • Development of geographically diverse Editorial Boards (over 30 countries represented between Technology in Cancer Research & Treatment and Cancer Control), which augment the work of the global in-house editorial team overseeing peer review selection.

  • Creation of a diverse Editorial Review Board to work in concert with other avenues of peer review selection. There is an emphasis on recruiting early career researchers, researchers from underrepresented groups, and researchers from around the globe.

  • Offering an open and easy to use process for those interested in reviewing to sign up as “willing” reviewers. Any researcher interested in being part of the journal community and participating in peer review can join.

Georgia Patey, Managing Editor of the journal Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology

  • Working with academic Associate Editors to recruit new board members that assist with peer review. When making recommendations, Associate Editors are encouraged to consider candidates that are geographic, gender, ethnic and racial diverse. The board is now 50% women and quite ethnically and racially diverse.

  

Authors

Jennifer Lovick

Managing Editor II, Editorial – Journals Open Access

Applonia Rose

Managing Editor, Editorial – Journals Open Access

Bailey Baumann

Editor II, Editorial – Journals Open Access

 

Contributors

Jim Baldwin

Managing Editor, Editorial - Journals

Sevda Dogan

Managing Editor, Editorial – Journals Open Access

Georgia Patey

Managing Editor (ME2), Editorial – Journals Open Access

Sara Parker

Editor, Editorial – Journals Open Access

Christa Walker

Publishing Editor I, Editorial - Journals Social Science

DEIChris BurnageDiversity, peer review, Journals