The year 2023 shows increasing consultation, engagement to further implement EMBL’s EDI strategy inside EMBL and among partners

In 2022, EMBL established an institution-wide strategy intended to be a vehicle for EMBL’s values of openness, inclusion, integrity, transparency, and fairness. It is at the core of its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion office. The strategy not only provided a value statement for EMBL, but also plans for instilling these values into how EMBL staff conduct research and other business.

It was a proactive approach to realise a vision of a more inclusive research and work culture, leveraging diversity, in its broadest sense, to enhance EMBL’s role as a leader in the life sciences in Europe and globally.

With 2023, the EDI office entered a second year of having this strategy in place and focused on four priority areas: people; policies and processes; inclusive leadership; and external partnerships.

People

A large part of EDI office’s work in this area in 2023 centred around consultative engagement that helps to attract, develop, support, and promote under-represented groups here. 

EDI staff consulted with several EMBL teams on inclusive recruitment during all stages of the hiring process. This work included helping the EIPOD team develop a list of platforms and channels to attract more diverse applicants, advising the EMBL-EBI Genome Assembly and Annotation team’s EDI working group on new inclusive recruitment documents, and collaborating with the International PhD programme on a non-discriminatory, inclusive on-site interview process.

At two scientific conferences, the EDI office contributed to sessions where senior EMBL scientists discussed equitable professional development and mentorship in STEM. This included ethical considerations at the EMBL Science and Society Conference and retention of diverse scientists at the EMBO Subcortical Sensory Circuits Workshop. 

Some other highlights in this priority included:

• Consultation on inclusive language in the International Birnstiel Award for Doctoral Research in Molecular Life Sciences that led to EICAT’s request for similar guidance in 2024.
• A second cohort that finished the LEAP programme, an initiative begun in 2020 to support and prepare female postdocs for leadership positions.
• EDI-themed workshops to more than 120 EMBL colleagues.
• The start of an EDI collection in the Leo Szilard library, which now includes 15+ titles.

Policies and processes 

The EDI office aims to ensure that EDI principles are built into all internal processes, systems, and policies. Consequently, over 2023 its staff consulted on various internal processes, systems, and policies, most notably on recruitment policies, with respect to specific recruitment advertisements, and in the way EMBL Human Resources aims to monitor progress in equality, diversity, and inclusion throughout the organisation.

External partnerships

In 2023, the EDI Office expanded its direct engagement with European partners. In line with the goal of establishing mutually beneficial relationships and supporting partner institutions, the EDI office offered guidance to organisations that held less mature EDI structures. 

Staff also exchanged knowledge and experiences within European science networks. This included attending quarterly meetings of EDIS and EIROForum EDI working groups, as well as representing EMBL at the EDIS Symposium in London and the EIROForum in Paris. 

Each year, the EDI office expands its doctrine a bit further, seeking a well-rounded, holistic approach that embeds EDI values and practices throughout EMBL and creating a culture of inclusivity. In that light, 2023 served to be another step forward in this quest.