[Gala-l] Gender and Language needs your support

[Mie Hiramoto]

Dear all,

This is a message from the Gender and Language editorial team. First and foremost, we take this opportunity to thank you for your continuous support for the journal!

We hope that you all are staying well and healthy at this time of uncertainty. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a truly unprecedented situation which affects us all. Our hearts go out to anyone who has been impacted by the virus, either directly or indirectly. During this time, we would like to reach out and update you on how we are approaching the situation at Gender and Language.



As part of IGALA and Equinox Publishing, the editorial team is doing our best to secure the standard of the journal. Beginning from the early part of this year, many of us have been strongly encouraged to minimize travel and to work from home. Gender and Language has been impacted by this in two ways.



(1) Postponement of IGALA 11 conference
(2) A drastic decline in subscription beyond the conference

The IGALA conference has been a crucial venue to maintain and expand the journal’s reach. Since IGALA membership—which is required to present at the conference—is attached to the journal subscription, the postponement of this year’s conference has led to a significant decrease in number of subscribers.

Although the publisher’s (Equinox) move to allow open-access for this year’s issues is a very generous and welcomed gesture, the editorial team has been informed that Gender and Language, like most journals, is facing a decline in renewals for 2021 of between 25 and 40% as libraries either divert funding to STM subjects supporting COVID-related research or simply face severe budget cuts due to funding cut-backs, declining enrollments or all of the above…

This influences Gender and Language as this source of income indirectly supports the editorial team, mainly by providing funds to pay the line editor and the social media manager.



In the middle of these challenges, the publisher is doing its best to maintain the journal’s quality. For example, they've been working on revamping the journal’s new website as linked below.



https://journal.equinoxpub.com/GL/about/submissions



In light of these financial challenges that IGALA and Gender and Language face, we are asking you all to help us by recommending that your institutions subscribe to Gender and Language. We understand that your institution’s libraries may already be a registered subscriber; however, please take a moment to check, and make a recommendation should the journal not be listed in the library catalogue. In case you need to make a new request, it is often successful when it is requested by more than one person. Furthermore, if possible, please also recommend to colleagues in your relevant academic circles that their institutions subscribe as well.


We'd like to note that we've been blessed with support and encouragement on this matter by Gender and Language editorial board and advisory board members, as well as the IGALA presidents, Holly Cashman and Claire Maree, the communication officer, Lucy Jones, and the blog manager, Benedict Rowlett. We are so so grateful; thank you so much!



Despite the many difficulties we are facing, the editorial team assures you that Gender and Language remains fully committed to doing everything we can to produce the best possible work. We believe that moments like these are reminders of how we remain connected despite physical distance.



On behalf of the entire editorial team and the team at Equinox, we wish you all well.



Sincerely, Rodrigo Borba, Kira Hall, and Mie Hiramoto




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Important: This email is confidential and may be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please delete it and notify us immediately; you should not copy or use it for any purpose, nor disclose its contents to any other person. Thank you.
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