Why diversity literacy is a research skill

Recent shifts in public discourse have prompted a move against “woke” university initiatives and programmes, with many countries and companies rolling back policies. Yet research funders in most of the same countries are increasing their demands for both diversity and international collaboration. 

For example, to be funded by Horizon Europe, an institution needs a gender equality plan. Applicants must also outline their approach to gender inclusivity in the “gender analysis” section of the proposal itself. 

With internationalisation fast becoming a higher education priority, so too should be supporting staff to work effectively in culturally diverse teams at home and internationally. But the responsibility for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) work sits within human resources teams and is centred around institutional priorities.

In research that involves travel to places where being LGBTQ+ is illegal, or to places where researchers could face racism or misogyny, a gender equality plan is of little, if any, use. 

The responsibility to protect researchers in such circumstances, and to foster international collaboration, ultimately rests with well-intentioned researchers and research managers.

But good intentions are not enough. Impactful research should reflect the world’s diversity. But promoting diversity and international collaboration requires structural support, skills and frameworks. Here’s what researchers and research managers can do.

Acknowledge the skills behind diversity work 

In complex inter-institutional international research collaborations, politeness will only take you so far. 

We will only see real progress towards diversity in research and greater international research collaboration when we view diversity the same way we view drawing up budgets, complying with funder requirements, building a research strategy or creating an open science strategy: as a skill. Research managers need to develop diversity literacy; otherwise, they risk taking a performative approach. Representation is important but it is not a substitute for competence. Diversity work is not solely the responsibility of under-represented groups.

Analyse the challenge

Before implementing a new EDI initiative, ask important questions such as:

• Are we implementing the initiative in the research support office, in a single research proposal, in a large Horizon Europe consortium or across the entire institution?
• Are we working within a single culture or several, and what political or cultural factors affect researcher collaborators from under-represented groups? 
• Are we aiming for short- or long-term impact, and what effects will that decision have on engagement and efficacy of the initiative? A long-term structural change might be impactful but the time frame and the abstract nature of the impact could make it a hard sell.
• And are we going for simple procedural tweaks or a high-complexity cultural change? 

The answers define our approach and the skills needed, and, just as importantly, they help us pre-empt potential pushback, the reasons behind it, and ways to prevent or work with it. With this information, we also have a clear picture of who we need to engage internally and externally because the good thing is we’re not in this alone.

Lead with your values

Researchers need to be pragmatic and authentic to navigate diverse cultural norms in research collaborations. A lack of pragmatism can lead to conflict or avoidance, and under-represented groups will pay the price in both cases. We need to be clear about our personal and cultural values to understand where we can compromise and where we need to stand firm. Reflecting on how we act out our values can help. 

For example, I am an LGBTQ+ researcher, and one of my values is courage, which prompts me to stand up for others and for what I think is right. But what if insisting on my values on LGBTQ+ rights risks putting collaborators in other countries in prison, or if I speak up for others and get to “play the hero” but don’t help change the situation for them. In that case the pragmatic and courageous thing could be to step aside.

This kind of reflection is especially important for Global North-Global South collaborations to prevent researchers from the Global North perpetuating colonial attitudes and behaviour.

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Flip the script

Too often, our approach to EDI in research is based on the “do no harm” ethics principle or a risk assessment. If we translate this to everyday life, it would mean that, as a gay man, all is good as long as I’m not harassed. But not being harassed is not the same as thriving as a researcher. And it takes more than the promise of not being harassed for me to provide researchers with my data as a participant. We’re setting the bar too low and undermining under-represented groups’ trust in science. Instead, when we identify a risk or potential harm to a group, we should not just mitigate it but take steps to improve the situation. This approach, coupled with practices around research integrity and responsible research, moves EDI work beyond a tick-box exercise.

Start at the research support office

For research managers, it is easy to view EDI work as something that happens “out there”; in HR teams or during the research itself. We only have to ensure the research complies with funder requirements. But if a lack of diversity is a structural issue for the research ecosystem, it’s also a problem for the research support office. 

Are we diverse enough? Do we have tools to develop diversity literacy? 

How can we monitor and evaluate diversity in our work? 

Answering these questions can help us identify the ways diversity impacts the internal workings of the research support office and its services. A pragmatic and structured approach can help us integrate diversity work into research, internal recruitment and communications and translate it into societal change. 

Then we can go out and not only support but lead the necessary changes in our institutions more broadly.

I don’t blame people for thinking: “That’s a lot, I think I’ll just continue as usual”. But we should remember that maintaining the status quo comes at a price. Treating the culture of the majority as the default is a structural risk because it alienates talent from under-represented groups and undermines trust in science more generally. 

If we take concrete steps, beginning with acknowledging that EDI work requires research managers to develop skills, we can go beyond good intentions and compliance. When we understand the stakes, the political context and the importance of external research funding, it is easy to see how important diversity literacy is for both researchers and research managers.

Jakob Feldtfos Christensen is author of Diversity Leadership for Research Managers: A Practical Guide (Emerald Publishing Limited, 2026). He works as a research adviser at DEFACTUM in Denmark and is director of DIVERSIUNITY, a consultancy specialising in diversity and internationalisation in research organisations.

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