Diversity in IUCr: Progress and Opportunities to Get Involved

The Gender, Equity, and Diversity Committee (GEDC) was created several years ago by the Executive Committee to promote greater representation throughout the IUCr. The EC and membership recognized the need to establish a broad range of candidates when nominating delegates, officers, editors, and Commission members, when planning conferences, and when nominating and awarding regional, national, and international prizes. Through these efforts, the IUCr continues to be a global inclusive leader in our collective mission to support and advance crystallography around the world. Jenny Martin chaired the GEDC in 2019, and the committee developed a mission, vision, set of values, and diversity statement. Since then, the GEDC also joined the Standing Committee for Gender Equality in Science (SCGES), which has grown from nine founding partners in 2020 to 25 in 2024. The world now celebrates the contributions of women, especially those in science, through events in Women’s History Month in March, on International Women’s Day, or the International Day of Women and Girls in Science (on February 11, in 2026). This year, the SCGES completed an extensive study on data from 2015-25 involving 136 organizations, including the IUCr, and interviews from nearly 650 scientists; the GEDC was selected this year for one of those interviews and helped to collect data from the IUCr. Clearly, this is a massive undertaking, and we continue to see progress in promoting gender equality across the global scientific landscape. The new global report is available on the IUCr/GEDC website.  The representation of women in the IUCr continues to grow, and we are very proud of being a role model for the rest of the world scientific societies since crystallography is involved in a broad range of scientific, engineering, mathematical, and biomedical research, discovery, advances, and publications. 

This year, we need to recruit new members and a new Chair for the GEDC from throughout the IUCr community to serve in 2027. Please reach out to me ([email protected]), the committee Co-Chair Cristy Nonato ([email protected]), or a member of the EC to be considered, or if you have any questions. The Chair and Co-Chair also serve as members of the SCGES, ex officio. 

Bernie Santarsiero, Chair; Cristy Nonato, Co-Chair