Our work to improve inclusion and diversity in the chemical sciences
Chemistry should be for everyone
We recognise the importance of valuing all members of our community; we believe that for the chemical sciences to prosper, they must attract, develop and retain a diverse range of talented people.
As a professional and membership body, and a leading voice for the chemistry community, we have a responsibility to promote inclusivity and accessibility in order to improve diversity.
In the following pages, you can read about our influential and wide-ranging work to make chemistry more welcoming to everyone. You will find original research, toolkits and guidelines, and global collaborations covering gender, race and ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and beyond.
Our studies, findings and reports
Improving the culture in scholarly publishing
In our Joint commitment for action on inclusion and diversity in publishing, we have brought together 54 publishing organisations. See who has signed up and find out about our work so far - our standardised questions for self-reported diversity data collection and minimum standards for inclusion and diversity for scholarly publishing.
Women's retention and progression in chemical sciences
Through a major survey, interviews and focus groups, we've gathered data showing talented women are leaving the academic sector before reaching their full potential or, are not progressing to senior grades in the same proportion as their male peers. Read our report "Breaking the Barriers" which gives us new insights into the barriers facing women in the chemical sciences.
Racial and ethnic inequalities in chemistry
Our findings show talented Black chemists leave the profession at every stage of their career path after undergraduate studies. People from Black and minoritised ethnicities are underrepresented at senior levels in industry and academia. We need to talk about and address racism, discrimination and inequality in the chemical sciences. Read our report.