New policy will allow authors an easy route to change names on previous publications

11 Sep 2020

“We’re pleased to be the first chemistry publisher, and among the first scholarly publishers in any field, to have adopted this policy,” says Sarah Tegen, Ph.D., senior vice president, ACS Publications Division. “Being tied to a previously used name is an obstacle for many researchers, as they may be faced with the decision to omit their publication from their resumé, risk missing out on credit for their scholarly work, or explain to colleagues and potential employers why their name was changed. This issue disproportionately impacts transgender scientists and women, and our new policy will lift a crucial barrier to inclusion and career mobility for our authors.”

“I’m thrilled that ACS has made this change, and it is a tremendous step for transgender scientists,” says Rettig. “As a trans author positively impacted by the changes ACS Publications is enacting, I encourage all publishers and journals to support the academic excellence of trans authors and move toward inclusive name change policies. However, trans authors pursuing the same endeavor at other major publishers continue to encounter barriers to carrying out these policies. I encourage other publishers to follow ACS’ lead in implementing policies that work to eliminate discrimination in the publishing community.”

“We will make our policy, implementation documentation and lessons learned available publicly to assist any publisher embarking on a similar path. This is a crucial step toward equality that the scientific community can take together,” says James Milne, Ph.D., president, ACS Publications Division.