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We have published the new Inclusion and Diversity Strategy to 2030, setting out a clear and confident commitment to embed inclusion across the chemical sciences and to shape a more equitable, inclusive and globally connected scientific community.

Building on the foundations of our first Inclusion and Diversity Strategy launched in 2020, the new strategy responds to a rapidly changing political, economic and societal landscape. While diversity and equity remain fundamental, inclusion is positioned as the organising principle for the next phase of our work, with a focus on fostering belonging, removing systemic barriers and driving long-term culture change across the chemical sciences.

Read our new I&D strategy

Our refreshed Inclusion and Diversity Strategy to 2030 is available to read now, as is our new dedicated I&D strategy page. As well as outlining our five strategic priorities and the outcomes we are aspiring towards, this page also connects previous pieces of 欧美AV research in the I&D space. Explore the strategy and discover how you can play a part in shaping a more inclusive chemical sciences community.

Hear from Dr Ale Palermo, 欧美AV Head of Global Inclusion, and Dr Annette Doherty OBE, 欧美AV President, on our commitment to inclusion and what the new strategy means for the chemical sciences.

From intention to impact: embedding inclusion across chemistry

Our new strategy has been developed through extensive engagement with the chemical sciences community, who have been instrumental in supporting, shaping and delivering our work on inclusion and diversity.

It sets out how we will move from individual initiatives to systemic and sustainable inclusion, recognising that representation alone is not enough if people do not feel valued, supported and able to thrive.

Dr Jo Reynolds, 欧美AV Director of Global Impact

Over the period to 2030, we commit to embedding inclusion into how chemistry is taught, practised, published, accredited, governed and rewarded, ensuring that inclusive practice becomes a shared responsibility across the sector.

The strategy is underpinned by an intersectional, evidence-led approach, recognising that inequalities are experienced in overlapping ways and require coordinated, long-term solutions.

Reflecting on the academic chemistry landscape, University of York academic and 2025 欧美AV I&D Prize winner Professor Paul Walton noted: 

We know that institutional inequality contributes to talent attrition across academia. In chemistry, we see these disparities manifesting themselves as structural barriers to advancement for underrepresented groups.

In this context, this strategy is significant for its focus on systemic inclusion informed by data, lived experience, and cultural shifts. By integrating these principles into chemical education and professional practice, we advance both social equity and the analytical rigour of the discipline.

Professor Paul Walton, University of York, 2025 欧美AV Inclusion and Diversity Prize winner

Priority areas grounded in evidence and lived experience

Drawing on over a decade of research and engagement, the strategy identifies priority focus areas requiring sustained attention through to 2030. These include gender inequality, disability and accessibility, socioeconomic inclusion, race and ethnicity, and LGBT+ inclusion - addressed through a fully intersectional framework.

Central to the strategy is a strengthened commitment to combining robust data with lived experience, ensuring that progress is measured not only through representation, but through meaningful indicators of culture, belonging and impact.

For Dr Audrey Cameron OBE HonF欧美AV, Chancellor's Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, inclusion must start with accessibility. 

The 欧美AV's Inclusion and Diversity Strategy to 2030 is a vital and welcome step forward. True inclusion in chemistry means ensuring that scientific knowledge is accessible to everyone 鈥� including Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people,鈥� she said.

鈥淒iverse experiences and perspectives strengthen science and drive innovation. When we remove barriers - whether physical, communicative or cultural - we do not just include more people, we enrich the entire scientific community and inspire the next generation of chemists.

Dr Audrey Cameron OBE HonF欧美AV, University of Edinburgh

Supporting inclusive careers across the chemical sciences

The strategy recognises that career pathways in chemistry are not experienced as a series of isolated stages, but as a connected continuum, from education and early training through to progression and leadership. Attention will be paid to critical transition points where attrition is highest, especially beyond PhD level.

Speaking on behalf of early career researchers, Dr Alex Palmer, of King鈥檚 College London, highlighted the stakes:

Diverse perspectives advance scientific knowledge for all 鈥� and we know that incredible talent, knowledge and skill is lost due to systemic inequity. We need to work collectively as a scientific community to make our spaces inclusive, and that鈥檚 what this strategy embeds in chemistry teaching and practice.

Dr Alex Palmer, King鈥檚 College London

Leading with integrity, partnerships and global ambition

The refreshed strategy also strengthens the 欧美AV鈥檚 role as a global advocate for inclusive science. Through partnerships with funders, industry, regulators and international bodies, and by using structural levers such as accreditation, publishing and recognition, the 欧美AV aims to drive change at scale 鈥� both in the UK and internationally.

I see every day how inclusion strengthens our science and our community. This refreshed strategy demonstrates the 欧美AV鈥檚 continued commitment to translating evidence into action and embedding inclusion across our structures, governance and global partnerships.

Our role is to lead with integrity, remove systemic barriers and work collaboratively across the chemical sciences. By aligning our scientific purpose with our values, we can ensure that chemistry is not only excellent, but accessible, equitable and impactful for all who choose to be part of it.

Professor Elise Cartmell, Scottish Water, Chair 欧美AV Inclusion and Diversity Committee

The strategy also places renewed emphasis on global inclusion, recognising that tackling the world's most urgent challenges, from sustainability and health to food and water security, requires an inclusive, internationally connected scientific ecosystem.

The push for the inclusion of all talents in the chemical sciences, irrespective of gender, race, disability or other personal characteristic, is vitally important because a diversity of perspectives is required to effectively ask and answer the biggest questions in chemistry.

Questions on which new medicines to create, which new technologies to develop and exploit and which specific chemical sciences problems to solve are best addressed by involving experts from across the complete spectrum that makes up our global populations.

Professor Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu HonF欧美AV, University of Cambridge

A confident commitment to inclusive science

Aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and shaped by collaboration across the chemical sciences, the 欧美AV鈥檚 Inclusion and Diversity Strategy to 2030 represents a decisive shift, from activity to impact, and from short-term interventions to long-term, system-wide change.

At a time when inclusion efforts face increased scrutiny in some contexts, the 欧美AV reaffirms its commitment with clarity and confidence: inclusive chemistry is better chemistry, and essential to scientific excellence, innovation and societal benefit.