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Our publishing activities

As a founding signatory of the Joint commitment for action on inclusion and diversity in publishing, we recognise that disparities and biases exist in publishing, and we are actively working towards ensuring we reflect the diversity of the community in our publishing activities. By partnering with other like-minded publishers to share knowledge and expertise, we aim to develop more inclusive practices and policies to better serve and improve outcomes for under-represented members of our community. We are committed to the minimum standards for inclusion and diversity defined by this group and are actively working towards these aims.

To date, our initiatives have included:

All of our content is immediately free to read for researchers from lower-income countries through the HINARI Research4Life initiative.

We have an agreement with Electronic Information for Libraries (EIFL), which enables corresponding authors in developing and transition economy countries to publish Open Access Research Articles in our five journals without paying an Article Processing Charge (APC).

Under their Open Access Equity policy, our fully Open Access title journals, Disease Models & Mechanisms and Biology Open, grant full APC waivers to corresponding authors based in low and lower-middle income countries. Authors who genuinely have no funds to cover APCs may also apply for a full or partial waiver on the basis of financial hardship.

Our content

Our collection of perspective-type articles from across The Company of Biologists’ journals reveals how research can be made more accessible and inclusive for biology researchers from all backgrounds, and emphasises how considering gender and genetic diversity in research practices can achieve results that apply to broader populations. Together, the articles in this collection demonstrate how the diversity of our global society can be better represented in the lab and in our communities.

Our charitable grants

Our Scientific Meeting Grants provide financial support for organisers of in-person, hybrid or virtual meetings, workshops, conferences and summer schools around the world in the fields covered by our journals. Whilst the quality of science remains paramount in assessing which applications we will fund, we would prefer to support events where organisers have sought maximal feasible diversity in speakers in terms of geography, gender and age. In addition, where attendance at events is selective, then we would expect such points to also be influential. We also encourage organisers to include a virtual element in their event, making them more accessible to a larger and more diverse audience and promoting inclusivity, accessibility and sustainability. Additional funding, through The Company of Biologists’ Sustainability Initiative, is available for meeting organisers with innovative ideas to improve accessibility and inclusivity in their meetings.

Our Travelling Fellowships provide financial support for early-career researchers to make collaborative visits to other laboratories. We aim to facilitate international collaborations and encourage applications from across the globe. Applications are assessed on the excellence of the candidate, the importance and innovative quality of the work to be done and the potential benefit to the applicant’s home lab.

Our Workshops and Meetings

Working with academics from across our community, we organise several small Workshops each year, as well as running meetings linked to the Company’s journals. Our events team is committed to providing a safe and productive meeting environment that fosters open dialogue and the exchange of scientific ideas, promotes equal opportunities and treatment for all participants, and is free of harassment and discrimination. Our code of conduct applies to all participants, including delegates, speakers, visitors, exhibitors, service providers and staff.  We work closely with the academic organisers of our events to ensure our meetings are as diverse as possible and aim for an equal gender and good geographical balance in our speaker and delegate lists. We choose our venues to make sure they have accessibility options for all.

Each of our Workshops offers ten funded places for early-career researchers, whilst giving early-career researchers the same amount of time to present their work as senior scientists. We recently initiated a programme to hold one Workshop based in a Global South country each year. The aim is to make our events accessible to a more diverse audience, supporting the scientific communities in these areas. We also have a Global South travel grant to support anyone from these regions that would like to attend one of our UK events.

Our staff

We are an equal opportunities employer. Our staff are drawn from a variety of professional and geographical backgrounds, and this mix of experience and nationalities helps us to support and inspire the international biological community.

The Company of Biologists is proud of its inclusive culture. We aim to maintain and improve our working environment so that everyone is included and able to give their best. We build on current thinking and best practice to ensure that diversity, equity and inclusion are embedded in everything we do:

  • We offer equal pay and equal benefits
  • All colleagues have the opportunity for training and development
  • At our accessible office building, there are designated disabled toilet, shower and parking facilities, as well as gender-neutral bathrooms
  • We purchase specialist hardware and software to assist staff with disabilities
  • We show strong support for part-time working and flexible working plans, including a proportion of remote working
  • Our Return to Work policy (after parental leave) is reviewed regularly to ensure it remains family-friendly
  • Our managers have received Mental Health training from ACAS, and we provide a set of wellbeing resources internally and encourage the use of Wellness Action Plans
  • Managers have been trained in fair recruitment practices

C4DISC

The Company of Biologists has adopted the Coalition for Diversity & Inclusion in Scholarly Communications (C4DISC) Joint Statement of Principles. Our values and vision align with those of C4DISC in aiming to foster a socially just and diverse community within scientific publishing.

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Disability Confident

The Company of Biologists is signed up to the Disability Confident scheme.

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About our Grants

The Company of Biologists uses the surplus it generates for the benefit of biology and the biological community by providing several types of grants, ranging from Scientific Meeting to Conference Travel Grants and Travelling Fellowships.

Support for early-career researchers

Alongside our five journals, we offer a number of practical ways to help early-career researchers (ECRs) meet the unique needs and challenges they may encounter. From hosting community platforms to publishing interviews and providing grants, we aim to help raise ECR profiles and maximise their impact.

Democratising access to research – our long-standing commitment to Open Access publishing

Updated 9 April 2025

The scholarly communication landscape has changed profoundly over the past two decades, with a profusion of new publishing and subscription models from commercial and not-for-profit publishers. The increasing importance of Open Access (OA) – making research immediately and freely available to all – has presented challenges as well as opportunities for libraries, funding organisations, publishers and researchers alike.


Visit our journal websites

Development Journal of Cell Science The Journal of Experimental Biology Disease Models & Mechanisms Biology Open

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