The American Chemical Society said it will take steps to address bias and discrimination in the publication of scientific articles, pointing to the low number of black students who receive advanced degrees in chemistry.

ACS published an editorial June 19 acknowledging the "deleterious impacts that racism and discrimination have had on scientists from underrepresented communities, especially black chemists," the group said in a statement. The editorial was signed by editors-in-chief and deputy editors of the society's publications.

"We all have a responsibility to eradicate racism and discrimination in the science and engineering community; indeed, in order to make a real difference we need to be antiracist," the editors wrote. "The tragic events we have seen in the black community provide great urgency to this goal."

ACS noted that only 4.5% of U.S. chemistry Ph.D. recipients and only 3.2% of U.S. chemistry postdocs are black. At the same time, only 1.6% of chemistry professors at the top 50 U.S. schools are black.

The editorial calls for urgent action to address the bias and discrimination black researchers face. For its own part, ACS said its publication division will implement specific training for all editors to recognize and interrupt bias in peer review, and it is developing an actionable diversity plan for its journals.

"Chemistry is so important because its discoveries impact everyone in our society," James Milne, president of ACS Publications, said in a statement. "For too long, however, the field has not represented the diverse communities in which we live. By challenging our own beliefs and actions, and through the changes we are making at ACS Publications, we will strive to build a better scientific community, and ultimately a better world."

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