People

Opinion piece

At the heart of a network

“Springer Nature is truly a people business. Our work touches millions of people every day: our fantastic colleagues; the communities of researchers and educators we work with; and the wider public who read or benefit from the research we publish.”

Gregor KarolusChief Human Resources Officer

Jessica GedamuVP Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Read the full article in the report regarding At the heart of a networkPDF 9MB

2023 be part of progress highlights

We want people joining us ‒ as well as those already here ‒ to be clear about what we stand for and what to expect as an employee. That’s why we’ve developed our new employer brand, Be Part of Progress. It has three main promises we make to our people to deliver on our employer brand: Be Yourself, Develop Your Curiosity, and Stretch your Horizons.

Working at Springer Nature means being part of progress and making a real impact on society. In return, we enable colleagues to develop their curiosity and stretch their horizons, challenging themselves in a collaborative, nurturing environment that prioritises employee wellbeing, flexibility, opportunity and inclusion.

10 global employee networks, with 1,800 members, focused on inclusion, advocacy and sustainability.

60,000 training hours delivered via our online learning portal.

40 colleagues learnt to define and grow their personal brand in the #SNAmbassadors programme.

Diversity, equity and inclusion

Springer Nature is deeply committed to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) within our organisation, in our content and across our communities. In 2023, we:

Increased our gender representation by 5 percentage points from 2018, with women now making up 44% of our global leaders.

Launched a new internship programme for students and recent graduates from historically underrepresented groups.

Set up an editorial DEI resource hub to encourage development of inclusive publishing practices.

Signed the UK’s Publishing Accessibility Action Group Charter.

Case studies

Influencing positive change across our communities and content

Macmillan Budding Scientist initiative

Macmillan Budding Scientist 2023 – a partnership between Macmillan Education India and the Indian Institutes of Technologies (IITs) – saw around 4,000 entries from young innovators across 1,200 schools presenting scientific solutions to a major challenge facing their society. Winners included a noise pollution solution project and an engine-locking system that detects alcohol for safer diving.

Three Indian boys standing in front of a table with a Macmillan Education tablecloth. They are all wearing school uniforms. One is talking into a microphone and others are presenting the project with a laptop.

Brazilian Association of Black Researchers

In 2023, the Springer Nature Black Employee Network (SN BEN) worked with the Brazilian Association of Black Researchers (ABPN) to run an editorial training course for 86 early-career researchers and ABPN associates. ABPN focuses on research carried out primarily by Black researchers on topics of direct interest to Black populations in Brazil.

A white man and a Black man having coffee together and talking on a sofa with a table in front of them. There are two mugs on the table and one laptop.

The Palgrave Handbook of Disability and Communication

This collection features contributions from more than 40 international scholars experiencing and researching disability, and focuses on the lived experience of disability in all its variety. The scholars examine the way people communicate with people with disabilities, talk about disability and express themselves through their disabled identity. The book deconstructs ableist communications from the past and present, as well as showing how today, empowered disabled people have more agency to control communicative structures.

Supporting charitable causes

Our responsibility to the global communities we work with goes beyond our publishing and commercial activity. We partner with and donate to others who contribute positively to the research, health and education communities that we work in, and our charitable giving helps our communities to discover, learn and achieve.

In 2023, we gave approximately €900,000 in donations and sponsorship to charities and other organisations that share our values, in addition to donations in kind.

Case study

180 days of giving back

To celebrate its positive impact on education globally, mark its 180th anniversary and show its dedication to serving local communities, Macmillan Education launched 180 days of giving back. Macmillan Education employees were given one day of leave to volunteer for a charity that supports education in their region.