At BMJ Group, we recognise that equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are integral to achieving our vision of a healthier world. Building on our advocacy of increasing patient and public involvement in clinical research and publishing, prioritising EDI enhances the integrity and relevance of our content, ensuring it is relevant for diverse audiences. 

By confronting long-standing bias in medicine, academia, and the scholarly publishing landscape, we are taking decisive action to reshape our sector. We have established targeted initiatives—such as policy reforms, measurable inclusion benchmarks, and comprehensive training programmes—to drive sustainable change toward a diverse and inclusive environment.

BMJ Group’s EDI commitment ensures our efforts are future-focused, progressive, accountable, and impactful.

The purpose of our EDI strategy is to increase diversity every year to reduce bias, improve equity, and enhance the quality, integrity and usefulness of our content.

Enhance quality, integrity and impact by diversifying the people who create, curate and communicate content.

Voicing opposition to racism: Since 2020, we have published landmark collections and ongoing coverage of racism in medicine. In February 2020, The BMJ highlighted the racial discrimination and health inequalities experienced by both patients and doctors in a special campaigning issue.

As the first journal publication solely focused on calling for action against racism in medicine, it directly contributed to the launch of the NHS Health and Race Observatory in May 2021.*  It also:

• Exposed the lack of data on ethnic health inequalities
• Won the PPA Diversity and Inclusion Award 2021
• Led the University of Nottingham’s Medical Society to reverse a policy not to allow a representative from an ethnic minority group to sit on its committee
• Led to the BMA launching a charter calling on medical schools to end this abuse

Whilst notable progress has been made in tackling racism in medicine, challenges remain. Medical schools are now more transparent in handling complaints, and racial equity is increasingly embedded in NHS policies. There has also been a modest increase in ethnic minority representation in medical leaders on the NHS Board, in NHS Trusts, and at some medical royal colleges.  

• 83% of UK medical schools now track racism complaints, up from 50% in 2020.

Ria Bansal, the BMA medical students committee co-deputy chair for student welfare, and a fourth year at University of Nottingham, told The BMJ that since 2020, she felt racial harassment and racism had become less of a “taboo topic,” and that grassroots activism from ethnic minority students and doctors was holding medical schools more accountable.  

Through targeted initiatives, we strive to reduce bias, amplify diverse voices, and ensure our content reflects the global research community.

At BMJ Group, we support authors from LMICs to publish their research by means of open access in their journal of choice. We do this by expanding waiver and discount policies, and provide access to paywalled content for LMIC researchers through the Research4Life programme.

We take meaningful action to advance EDI in the areas we can influence. We are creating a more inclusive research environment by fostering balanced representation among editors and authors and addressing systemic biases.

We actively support clinicians and researchers worldwide in publishing high-quality work—regardless of sex, gender, race, ethnicity, first language, sexual orientation, religion, disability status, age, nationality, or citizenship. In doing so, we help dismantle barriers that have historically excluded underrepresented groups, enabling them to share their research and advance their careers.

The impact of editorial diversity is clear. Research shows that when editorial boards lack racial diversity, scholars studying race are less likely to submit their work, believing it won’t be valued or published. However, when journals have diverse editorial leadership, scholars report greater confidence in the journal and its commitment to inclusion. By diversifying our editorial boards, we send a powerful message: all high quality research is valued, and all voices deserve to be heard.

Balancing the need to acknowledge harm with the integrity of the scientific record is essential. When concerns are raised—whether by readers or through internal review—we assess them carefully. If content is found to be potentially offensive or harmful, we provide clear disclaimers to ensure transparency. As evidence evolves and public debate shifts, we may correct or retract historical content to reflect current understanding. This approach allows us to uphold both accountability and the credibility of the published record.  

Our exploratory work in this important area involved invaluable input from representatives from the Royal Historical Society, our internal staff cultural inclusion group, our Committee on Ethics and AI, the British Library’s anti-racism project, and archivists at the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

“As an anti-racist employer and a leading voice in global medicine and health, we strongly oppose racism and support equity, diversity and inclusion because more equal societies are healthier societies.”
Chris Jones, CEO, BMJ Group

BMJ Group has actively engaged in staff-led editorial initiatives to enhance EDI throughout its publication process. Everything, from how we interact with authors, reviewers, and editors to our daily business, is scrutinised to ensure we provide a fairer and more inclusive service for everyone.

We are doing this to create better ways to disseminate important research and help us move toward a world where our sector can fully benefit from everyone’s work, regardless of gender, sex, cultural position, or religious beliefs.

Part of our work includes having dedicated staff actively participating in industry-wide EDI groups such as Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP), Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications (C4DISC), and the Joint Committee for Action on Inclusion and Diversity in Publishing.

These collaborations enable us to stay at the forefront of EDI efforts in publishing, sharing best practices, and contributing to initiatives that promote inclusivity and reduce bias across the industry.

Diversity leads to better research

#PublishingEquality | As an organisation, we united with our fellow publishers to make research publishing more inclusive and diverse. We signed an agreement to take a proactive stance against bias, as we commit to working together to better reflect the diversity of their communities and to remove barriers for under-represented groups.

The joint agreement impacts scholarly publishing on a global scale, having been initiated by the Royal Society of Chemistry and signed by the American Chemical Society (ACS), BMJ Group, Cambridge University Press, the Company of Biologists, Emerald Publishing, Elsevier, Hindawi, IOP Publishing, Oxford University Press and the Royal Society. We are also engaging with more publishers to form a working group to collaborate on further actions to improve inclusion and diversity in publishing.

Across events and publishing, our work includes promoting EDI in publishing through initiatives like educational webinars. These sessions focus on topics such as unconscious bias in peer review and increasing diversity in editorial boards.

Our BMJ Future Health programme has been designed to help health professionals tackle health inequalities by fostering diversity in digital health. The conference discusses equity in healthcare apps, personalised medicine, and evidence generation for digital health solutions. Sessions also focus on scaling digital care pathways, remote monitoring, and prioritising user-centred systems implementation. These initiatives reflect our commitment to inclusive healthcare innovation.

Our work experience programme is a robust initiative that supports minority individuals and contributes to societal efforts to promote equity and inclusion. Participants in our programme gain practical insights into various workplace skills, enhance their career prospects, and build their interpersonal skills. Exposing students to professional environments makes these settings more accessible and less intimidating, fostering a sense of belonging.

The programme builds community partnerships with local schools, ensuring that it reaches those who need it most and maximises student development. Unlike traditional human resource efforts, our initiative reflects our deep commitment to addressing educational inequalities. It does this by providing valuable work experience in a way that also actively promotes social mobility. Our work experience programme helps to differentiate BMJ Group from other organisations, demonstrating our dedication to creating meaningful and lasting change.

Investing in these students’ potential paves the way for a more equitable society. We set a precedent for other organisations and showcase how targeted initiatives can drive broader social transformation.

BMJ Group colleagues recently participated in a webinar with the In2Science charity, sharing their career journeys with young people. The session, “Shaping the Future of Global Health: Careers in Healthcare Research and Education,” featured the Group’s Comfort King, Kristoffer Stewart, Emily Houghton, and Josephine Weisflog.

BMJ Group is home to many talented individuals. To advance our vision of helping to create a healthier world, we must engage and inspire young people to pursue STEM careers. By showing them the diverse, impactful opportunities available within the STEM field, we can encourage the next generation to explore careers that align with their passions and make a difference.

“The speakers “were fantastic, generously sharing their personal insights and career success tips. The personal insights and advice they shared were incredibly valuable to our In2careers members.”
In2Science

BMJ Group is also an official partner of the National Council for the Training of Journalists’ (NCTJ) Journalism Diversity Fund (JDF). This means we contribute financially and actively participate in the JDF’s mentoring programme by allowing successful candidates to gain insights into the specialised branch of journalism.

Across the business, we continually assess what we can do to strengthen our EDI efforts further.

Publication Ethics & Content Integrity Editor

Head of Content Growth

Executive Editor, The BMJ

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Assistant

Head of Employee Experience

Transfer Editor