Royal Society of Chemistry Inclusion and Diversity Forum 2025

We held the fifth edition of our @Royal Society of Chemistry Inclusion and Diversity Forum last week, taking the opportunity to speak to some of the influential, expert members of our community whose amazing efforts we celebrated on the day. Their dedication to improving our science – and our world – is simply inspiring. Watch our highlights video to hear some of those voices…

We know that keeping up our efforts is not easy. It can be uncomfortable, complicated, deeply personal – because inclusion and diversity are not abstract policy discussions. They affect lives, careers, futures. We are all operating in a changing, challenging, and uncertain environment. Across the world, we see inclusion and diversity efforts coming under scrutiny, or being stalled, or even reversed. And that is not just a political or institutional challenge – it is personal.

For many people, this moment is causing real hardship, uncertainty, and worry – about the future of their careers, their safety, their ability to thrive in the spaces they have worked so hard to enter. No one should have to carry that alone.

At the Royal Society of Chemistry, we have made a commitment: not just to acknowledge those barriers, but to act. To use our voice, our partnerships, our influence – to push for real change.
Some of those partnerships are being tested. We feel for our friends, colleagues and partners around the world: especially those who have been forced to make impossible choices, against their better judgment. It has never been more important that we stay true to our own course, to double down on our core beliefs in equality, diversity and inclusion.

That is why our efforts in inclusion and diversity will continue to bring our community together in solidarity, to celebrate what has been achieved, and to keep pushing forward. Whether you are driving change within your own organisation, supporting colleagues, or finding your own way forward – there is a network of people here who share your values, your experiences, your determination.

So, thank you for your support. Thank you for the work you do. And thank you for continuing to push for a better future for chemistry.

0:00 - Welcome remarks - Dr Annette Doherty
0:07 - Dr Victoria Mason from Discovery Planet CIC with the 2024 Inclusion and Diversity Prize
0:18 - A message from Dr Helen Pain
0:35 - Professor Robert Mokaya
1:42 - Professor Vania Dimitrova
3:55 - Professor Rachel O'Reilly
4:39 - Dr Adam Berlie
5:35 - Dr Kelly Kousi
6:17 - Dr Marco Reggiani
8:01 - Dr Leonie Jones
8:46 - Professor Katherine Deane
10:08 - Kevin Coutinho