Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) demonstrates a commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) through it's programs, practices, policies, and publications. ADA's professional publications contribute the most current and complete collection of diabetes information in a variety of formats to a broad community of diabetes researchers, care providers, and educators, many but not all of whom comprise the ADA's professional members. The ADA's professional publications operate with the explicit goal of advancing the ADA's mission:

"to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes."

Justice. Justice means fairness in the way people are treated. Injustices exist in our society that are based on individual and group characteristics, such as gender, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The ADA strives to identify areas in which barriers to access and care occur and actively works to remove them. Advocacy efforts of the ADA include supporting government funding for diabetes research and programs, improving access to affordable medications and technologies, ensuring access to health care, supporting insulin affordability, preventing type 2 diabetes, fighting discrimination, and more. Read more about the ADA's Advocacy Efforts.

Equity. Equity refers to the assurance that individuals have access to the same support and resources and are given the same opportunities as all other individuals. The ADA believes equity is a fundamental human right when it comes to health and well-being and promotes the Health Equity Bill of Rights, which envisions a future without unjust health disparities. 

Diversity. Diversity means having or being composed of a range of different racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds. Diversity drives innovation, as every individual offers a unique experience and perspective from which we can learn from one another, grow as individuals and as professionals, and ultimately effect positive change in society. Read the policy regarding Diversity and Inclusion at ADA.

Inclusion. Inclusion, or the act of being inclusive, refers to creating a sense of belonging through actively valuing individuals and their unique qualities. The ADA works tirelessly to reach communities throughout the U.S. to prevent diabetes among at-risk populations and to ensure that all people with diabetes get the best care, treatment, and information. Learn about ADA's Community Programs. 

Joint Commitment for Action on Inclusion and Diversity in Publishing

The JEDI initiatives of the ADA extend to its professional publications. As a signatory of the Joint Commitment for Action on Inclusion and Diversity in Publishing, the ADA joins publishers worldwide working together to set standards for a more inclusive and diverse culture within scholarly publishing. Central to this, the group has agreed upon a set of Minimum Standards for Inclusion and Diversity in Scholarly Publishing. The goal of the Minimum Standards is to

• enable senior leaders in publishing, editorial decision makers (which may involve staff or academics) and editorial boards to evaluate their performance and progress on inclusion and diversity within their organizations and publications; and
• enable publishers, editorial decision makers, authors, and reviewers to identify and take achievable, specific actions to improve inclusion and diversity in scholarly publishing. 

Diversity Data Collection

In addition, the Joint Committee has launched a set of standardized questions for self-reported diversity data collection. The ADA's scholarly journals have begun collecting diversity data in each journal's peer-review site (ScholarOne Manuscripts). The goal of the standardized questions is to understand the current demographic makeup of our publications' authors, editors, and reviewers, so that we may individually take action, set goals, and measure progress towards effecting positive changes in the larger scientific community. The questions were developed for purpose of collecting self-reported gender identity as well as race and ethnicity data for authors, reviewers, editors, and all editorial decision makers. Information on how the questions were developed, the benefits of using standardized questions to collect diversity data, and the complete list of questions is available at Diversity Data Collection in Scholarly Publishing.