The MIT Press Diversity & Inclusion Working Group Team receives their award for Advancing Inclusion and Global Perspectives from President L. Rafael Reif.
The first Excellence Award for Advancing Inclusion and Global Perspectives goes to a path-forging group at the MIT Press.
The MIT Press is truly global. Its reach extends well beyond their offices in Cambridge and London to include authors, readers, reviewers, scholars, and librarians around the world. The Diversity and Inclusion Working Group was founded in June of 2017 by members of the MIT Press staff who were inspired by the mounting research that showed a historic lack of diversity within the publishing industry. They wanted to be the change they wanted to see.
In just a year and a half the Working Group has provided a model for the publishing world by
- revising onboarding procedures,
- increasing outreach for groups, events, and resources,
- AND designing new educational programming for staff.
The Working Group organizes open dialogues about diversity and inclusion to make discussing the uncomfortable more comfortable. Conversations have ranged from correcting implicit biases in the hiring process to reversing the historical inequalities inherent in publishing. The group’s Trans Inclusivity Training and follow-up discussions have given the Press staff an opportunity to practice the tools they’ve learned.
The Working Group is especially excited about the launch of the Enroot Diversity Internship. The program was created in partnership with Enroot, a local nonprofit that works with organizations around the city to place ESL high school students in professional environments to develop their career skills. The new program provides support to students new to Cambridge and helps the Press strengthen local ties.
As one colleague observed, “The Working Group has done tremendous work in advancing a diverse and inclusive workforce. It serves as a model of grassroots excellence and is now core to the social and professional fabric of MIT Press.”
The members of the MIT Press Diversity and Inclusion Working Group:
- Elizabeth Agresta
- Elizabeth Clevenger
- Stephanie Cohen
- Kate Elwell
- Gabriela Bueno Gibbs
- Hannah Gotwals
- MF Gydus
- Kathryn Helke
- Laura Keeler
- Justin Kehoe
- Gita Manaktala
- Kelly McDougall
- Marcy Ross
- Emily Taber
- Anthony Zannino