Facilitating Gender Diverse Authorship: A Comparative Analysis of Academic Publisher Name Change Policies

Post-publication name change policies are vital for safeguarding privacy and equity for authors navigating identity changes, including gender transitions, within academic publishing. Before the introduction of these policies in 2019, trans, non-binary, and gender diverse authors faced significant barriers, often risking privacy violations and disruptions to their academic records. This study employs thematic content analysis to assess the publicly available name change policies of nine academic journal publishers, examining their structure, discoverability, and alignment with inclusivity principles. Key findings reveal a lack of standardization across policies, with notable variation in content and accessibility. While privacy and correction mechanisms are commonly addressed, critical themes such as author engagement and broader industry context remain underdeveloped. The policies’ discoverability on publisher websites also varies widely, potentially limiting their utility to those who need them most. These gaps highlight covert marginalization embedded in policy design and communication. By situating this analysis within an ethic of care and the broader context of digital identity management, this study reveals how publishing policies intersect with web-based systems of scholarly communication. The findings urge academic publishers, technologists, and policymakers to co-create inclusive solutions that align with emerging metadata standards and ethical frameworks. This research lays a foundation for understanding how academic infrastructure can evolve to better serve diverse author communities in a connected and equitable web ecosystem.