At a time when conversations and activism related to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion are occurring around the globe, we’re grateful that so many ACES members believe that addressing representation and inclusion are essential elements of our work, rather than side issues.
Led by our Diversity and Inclusion Committee, ACES remains focused on providing editors with a voice, access, and support. And, as was our hope, more and more members are getting involved with our diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts. This has brought us a mix of backgrounds, experiences, and points of view. As expected, we don’t all agree on every issue. But even when we’ve disagreed, we’ve listened, learned, and found compromise.
ACES’ leaders, members, and staff have been working on some exciting initiatives, such as selecting our inaugural Holden diversity fellows—Ruksana Hussain, Erich Lagasse, and Vee White. The Richard S. Holden Diversity Fellowship was launched in August 2020 by the ACES Education Fund in partnership with the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund. The fellowship seeks to support diversity and inclusion by advancing early and mid-career professionals in their work as editors and aspiring industry leaders. It recognizes the work of the late Rich Holden, who championed diversity in editing as the longtime managing director of the Dow Jones News Fund.
We are continuing to hear from new voices through the ACES Academy trainers, conference presenters, and Twitter chat guests. And in recent issues of this newsletter, we’ve featured:
Members have also shared their perspectives and expertise on the ACES website and social channels. This content covers D&I topics such as cultural competency, inclusive language, objectivity in editing, unconscious bias, and editing with a mental health issue. Other great resources on the website are the Interview with an Editor profiles, the Book Corner, and our new D&I resource section.
The resource center supports more accurate representations in editing. For example, you’ll find style guides for various communities and other tools, including the robust SPJ Toolbox for Diversity. We’ve also included links to directories that will help you find editors from diverse backgrounds and expertise. Check out our Editors for Hire directory and the Editors of Color and Diverse Databases.
As we look ahead, we’ll continue to grow these efforts. But we’ll also give attention to the following:
We hope you’ll join us. We’d love for you to start by sharing what you think our D&I priorities should be. Please email us your ideas and feedback at ACESdiversity@ACESeditors.org. You can also contact the members on the committee:
ACES’ Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives Continue to Grow was originally published in Tracking Changes (Winter 2021 edition). Members receive a PDF of the quarterly Tracking Changes newsletter by email.
