Biases in the research system against underrepresented groups of researchers (e.g., against women or ethnic minorities) are extensively being studied and debated. Such biases are often seen as one of the causes of the lack of diversity in many research fields, while at the same time the lack of diversity may further reinforcesuch biases.

In this talk I will analyze how biases are being studied and how studies of biases inform policy initiatives aimed at improving diversity and inclusion in the research system. I will present a number of different perspectives taken in discussions about biases in the research system, and I will point out some of the challenges in developing a coherent understanding of these biases. At a meta level, I will reflect on the possibility that we are all biased and that, as a result, our studies of biases in the research system may also be biased themselves.

From a more practical point of view, I will discuss ongoing initiatives aimed at making the scholarly publishing system more diverse and inclusive, and I will reflect on tensions between these initiatives and other agendas aimed at improving and reforming scholarly publishing.