CONTENTS

1. Scope and applicability
2. Definitions

PART A - DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

3. Foundational commitment
4. Diversity, equity, and inclusion in editorial leadership
5. Diversity, equity, and inclusion in peer review
6. Sex, gender, and SAGER reporting
7. Health equity in published content
8. Diamond open access as an equity instrument
9. Data collection and monitoring (diversity, equity, and inclusion)
10. Annual public reporting (diversity, equity, and inclusion)
11. Anti-harassment and non-discrimination
12. Author name change and metadata correction

PART B - ACCESSIBILITY

13. Legal and normative framework
14. Accessibility commitment
15. Website accessibility
16. Published content accessibility
17. Submission and editorial process accessibility
18. Author guidance on accessible content
19. Accommodation and assistance requests
20. Legacy content
21. Monitoring, testing, and periodic review (accessibility)

PART C - CLOSING PROVISIONS

22. Responsibilities
23. International normative references
24. Version history

 

1. SCOPE AND APPLICABILITY

1.1 Scope. This Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Policy defines the principles, commitments, and operational provisions by which European Gynecology and Obstetrics (EGO) pursues diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and ensures accessibility across all dimensions of its editorial activity, published content, and digital infrastructure. It applies to the composition of the editorial leadership, the selection and management of peer reviewers, the assessment and publication of manuscripts, the public reporting of DEI and accessibility indicators, and the accessibility of the Journal website, published content, and editorial platform.

1.2 Applicability. This Policy applies to: all members of the editorial leadership, as defined in the Editorial Board Charter; all peer reviewers invited to assess manuscripts submitted to the Journal; all users of the Journal website (egojournal.eu), including readers, prospective authors, and other visitors; Edikta S.r.l. (Publisher) and the European Society of Gynecology (ESG), in the discharge of its respective governance and operational responsibilities; the Editorial Office, in its coordinating functions; and the typesetter, in its production functions. Authors are subject to the provisions of Sections 6 and 7 of this Policy regarding the reporting of sex and gender in research and the promotion of health equity in submitted manuscripts, and to the provisions of Sections 16 and 18 regarding accessible manuscript preparation and published content.

1.3 Relationship with other policies. This Policy is to be read in conjunction with: Editorial Policy Statement; Editorial Board Charter (Sections 17, 18, and 19); Peer Review Policy; Statistical Reporting and Reproducibility Policy; Author Fees and Publication Charges Policy; Open Access Policy; Complaints, Appeals and Whistleblowing Policy; Privacy and Data Protection Policy; Submission Guidelines; Corrections and Retractions Policy; Authorship Policy. In the event of any inconsistency between this Policy and the provisions of the Editorial Board Charter concerning the composition of the editorial leadership, the Editorial Board Charter prevails.

2. DEFINITIONS

For this Policy, the following definitions apply.

Diversity refers to the variety of human differences present among individuals, including but not limited to geographic origin, nationality, language, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disability, socioeconomic background, career stage, institutional affiliation, and disciplinary or methodological perspective.

Equity refers to fair treatment, access, and opportunity for all individuals, recognizing that different individuals may require varying levels of resources and support to achieve comparable outcomes. Equity is distinguished from equality in that it addresses structural disadvantages rather than applying uniform treatment irrespective of circumstance.

Inclusion refers to the creation of an editorial environment in which individuals from all backgrounds feel welcomed, respected, and valued, and in which diverse perspectives are actively sought, considered, and integrated into editorial practice.

Accessibility refers to the design and delivery of products, services, and environments in a manner that enables use by all people, irrespective of ability or disability, without the need for adaptation or specialist intervention.

DEIA is the standard abbreviation used throughout this document to denote the combined concepts of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility as defined above, consistent with the terminology adopted by COPE and by the C4DISC Focused Toolkit for Journal Editors and Publishers.

Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, expressions, and identities associated with women, men, girls, boys, and individuals across the gender spectrum, as distinct from biological sex. The Journal recognizes gender as a spectrum and does not operate binary gender categories in any monitoring or reporting activity.

Sex refers to a set of biological attributes including chromosomes, hormones, and anatomy, typically categorized as female, male, or intersex. Sex and gender are analytically distinct dimensions and their distinction is relevant to research design and reporting.

Early-career researcher means a researcher within 10 years of the award of a doctoral degree or an equivalent period of professional research experience in which a doctoral degree was not obtained.

Low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) are those classified as such by the World Bank in its most recent published income classification.

Implicit bias refers to unconscious attitudes, stereotypes, or associations that affect editorial judgments and decisions without the individual's deliberate awareness.

Assistive technology refers to hardware or software that enables people with disabilities to use digital products and services. Examples include screen readers (e.g., NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver), screen magnifiers, voice recognition software, alternative input devices, and refreshable Braille displays.

WCAG 2.1 refers to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Version 2.1, published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in June 2018. WCAG 2.1 is organized under 4 principles - Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust (POUR) - and defines 3 conformance levels: A, AA, and AAA.

Level AA is the intermediate conformance level of WCAG 2.1, adopted by the Journal as the primary technical target for web accessibility, consistent with EN 301 549 v3.2.1 and the approach followed in EU digital accessibility frameworks. Level AA is the target standard of this Policy.

PDF/UA (Portable Document Format / Universal Accessibility) refers to ISO 14289-1:2014, the international standard for universally accessible PDF documents. PDF/UA specifies requirements for tagging, logical reading order, alternative text, and metadata enabling PDF content to be used with assistive technologies.

Reasonable accommodation refers to any modification or adjustment to standard procedures, deadlines, communication formats, or content delivery that enables a person with a disability, or a person with any accessibility need addressed by this Policy, to participate in editorial activities or access published content, where such modification does not impose a disproportionate burden on the Publisher.

Legacy content refers to articles, policy documents, and other published materials made available on the Journal website before the effective date of this Policy.

Disproportionate burden refers to a burden that, after due assessment of the organization's size, resources, and the nature and estimated cost of the required accessibility measure, is deemed disproportionate. Any such assessment shall be documented and reviewed annually.

PART A - DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

3. FOUNDATIONAL COMMITMENT

3.1 Commitment statement. European Gynecology and Obstetrics (EGO) is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility as foundational principles of scientific publishing. The Journal recognizes that a diverse, inclusive, and accessible editorial environment produces better science: it broadens the range of perspectives applied to research evaluation, reduces the influence of systemic biases on publication outcomes, ensures that the published literature reflects the full breadth of the scientific community it serves, and enables the widest possible readership to engage with that literature. This commitment is declared in the Editorial Policy Statement (Section 21). It is developed operationally through this Policy, in its two constituent parts: diversity, equity, and inclusion (Part A) and accessibility (Part B).

3.2 Scope of the commitment. This commitment extends to all parties involved in the publication process - editors, reviewers, authors, and the Editorial Office - and encompasses the composition of the editorial leadership, the conduct of peer review, the design and reporting of research, the selection of published content, and the accessibility of the Journal's website, published articles, and editorial processes to all users.

3.3 Consistency with the Journal's mission. The commitment to DEIA is directly aligned with the Journal's scientific mission in the fields of women's health, gynecology, and obstetrics. Research in these disciplines is shaped by variables of sex, gender, socioeconomic status, and geographic context that are inseparable from questions of equity and inclusion, and the Journal's readership and contributor base include individuals who rely on accessible formats to participate fully. The Journal recognizes that advancing science in women's health requires sustained attention to who produces, evaluates, accesses, and is represented in that science.

3.4 Continuous improvement. The Journal understands DEIA as a continuous process requiring regular assessment, transparent reporting, and iterative improvement. The provisions of Part A are subject to annual review and to the progressive development of data collection and monitoring capacity, as described in Sections 9 and 10. The provisions of Part B are subject to the annual monitoring, testing, and review cycle described in Section 21.

3.5 Bridge to accessibility. The Journal's commitment to ensuring that authors, reviewers, editors, and readers with disabilities or accessibility needs can participate in the editorial and publication process on an equitable basis is a foundational element of this Policy, fully developed in Part B (Sections 13 to 21). Reasonable accommodations may be requested in relation to submission procedures, peer review deadlines, editorial communications, and access to published content, as outlined in Section 19.

4. DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IN EDITORIAL LEADERSHIP

4.1 General principle. The composition of the Journal's editorial leadership actively reflects the commitment to DEI outlined in Section 3. In the appointment, renewal, and management of all editorial roles, the Editor-in-Chief and the Publisher pursue the objectives outlined in this Section, in alignment with the quantitative targets established in the Editorial Board Charter (Section 18), which are incorporated by reference and reproduced in Sections 4.2 to 4.5 below for public accessibility.

4.2 Geographic diversity. The Editorial Board shall include active representation of researchers across diverse geographic areas, with particular attention to countries and regions historically underrepresented in international gynecology journals, including low- and middle-income countries disproportionately affected by maternal and women's health burdens. Geographic diversity is a standing criterion in the evaluation of candidates for appointment and renewal.

4.3 Gender balance. The editorial leadership aims to achieve and maintain a composition in which no single gender identity represents more than 70 percent of the Editorial Board's total membership. This target is evaluated annually during the Editor-in-Chief's performance review, as outlined in the Editorial Board Charter (Section 19).

4.4 Career stage. Early-career researchers shall constitute at least 25 percent of the Editorial Board membership, including Editorial Fellows admitted under the Fellowship program established in the Editorial Board Charter (Section 17). The Editorial Fellowship program is a structural mechanism that creates pathways for researchers from underrepresented geographic areas and career backgrounds into editorial roles.

4.5 Disciplinary breadth. The Editorial Board shall reflect the Journal's full disciplinary scope, ensuring adequate representation of all major areas of gynecology and obstetrics. Appointment decisions shall consider disciplinary balance alongside geographic and demographic criteria.

4.6 Appointment process. The appointment process for all editorial roles shall be conducted in accordance with transparent, documented criteria. Where applicable, calls for applications shall be disseminated through channels that maximize reach to underrepresented groups, including through the networks of the European Society of Gynecology and relevant international professional associations.

4.7 Periodic composition review. The Editor-in-Chief shall review the composition of the Editorial Board at least annually, assessing progress against the targets outlined in this Section. Where underrepresentation is identified in any dimension, the Editor-in-Chief shall document planned corrective actions in the Annual Editorial Report (Section 10 of this Policy).

5. DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IN PEER REVIEW

5.1 General principle. The peer review process of the Journal shall be conducted in a manner that is free from bias based on the identity characteristics of authors or reviewers. The Editorial Office and all members of the editorial leadership actively pursue a diverse and geographically representative reviewer pool, consistent with the principles of the C4DISC Focused Toolkit for Journal Editors and Publishers (2024) and COPE guidance on diversity and inclusivity in research publishing.

5.2 Reviewer selection criteria. Reviewers shall be invited based on their scientific expertise, prior review performance, and absence of conflict of interest, as defined in the Conflict of Interest Policy. No reviewer invitation shall be declined or withheld based on the reviewer's geographic origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, career stage, institutional affiliation, disability, or socioeconomic background. These criteria are binding on all members of the editorial leadership.

5.3 Gender balance in reviewer invitations. The Journal applies the same gender balance target to the peer review process as to the Editorial Board: no single gender identity shall represent more than 70 percent of reviewer invitations across all manuscript assignments in a given calendar year. This target operates at aggregate annual level and shall not override scientific expertise, reviewer independence, absence of conflicts of interest, or the need for appropriate methodological competence in the assessment of individual manuscripts. The target is aspirational during the initial phase of implementation and becomes subject to formal monitoring as data-collection capacity develops, pursuant to Section 9.

5.4 Career stage in reviewer invitations. Early-career researchers shall comprise at least 25 percent of reviewer invitations in any given calendar year. This target operates at aggregate annual level and shall not override scientific expertise, reviewer independence, or the need for appropriate methodological competence in the assessment of individual manuscripts. Associate Editors are encouraged to actively identify early-career reviewers with relevant expertise, including through the Editorial Fellowship network (Section 17), as a structural mechanism to expand the reviewer pool beyond established academic networks.

5.5 Geographic diversity in reviewer invitations. The Journal pursues broad geographic diversity in the reviewer pool, with active effort to include reviewers from areas underrepresented in international editorial networks, including LMICs. The Editorial Office monitors the geographic distribution of reviewer invitations on an ongoing basis.

5.6 Double-anonymous review as an equity mechanism. The Journal applies double-anonymous peer review as the standard modality for all manuscript types, as detailed in the Peer Review Policy. Double-anonymous review is recognized as a structural mechanism for reducing the influence of identity-based bias on editorial assessment. Where double-anonymous review is not feasible for a specific manuscript type, the exception shall be documented and disclosed in accordance with the Peer Review Policy.

5.7 Awareness of implicit bias. Members of the editorial leadership are encouraged to develop awareness of implicit bias in peer review and editorial decision-making. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for ensuring that resources on implicit bias awareness are made available to editors and reviewers through appropriate channels, in coherence with COPE guidance on diversity and inclusivity in publishing.

6. SEX, GENDER, AND SAGER REPORTING

6.1 Analytical relevance. Sex (biological) and gender (social and identity construct) are analytically relevant variables in gynecology, obstetrics, and reproductive medicine. The Journal requires that authors address both dimensions systematically in the design and reporting of their research, in recognition of the fundamental role these variables play in clinical outcomes and research validity.

6.2 SAGER endorsement. The Journal endorses and actively promotes the Sex and Gender Equity in Research (SAGER) Guidelines (Heidari et al., 2016, Publisher Correction 2024) as the standard reporting framework for sex and gender in all clinical, epidemiological, and experimental studies submitted to the Journal. The detailed requirements derived from the SAGER Guidelines are outlined in the Statistical Reporting and Reproducibility Policy (Section 13), to which this Section cross-refers in its entirety.

6.3 Author obligations. Authors are required to: declare whether the study analysed sex and/or gender as analytical variables, and define each term as used in the study; report results stratified by sex and/or gender where sample sizes permit and where clinically relevant; provide an explicit justification where sex- or gender-stratified analysis was not conducted; and avoid the interchangeable use of "sex" and "gender" without explicit definition.

6.4 Editorial review. Editors and reviewers are required to assess the adequacy of sex and gender analysis as part of the substantive evaluation of all manuscripts reporting original research. Inadequate or absent sex and gender analysis in studies where it is appropriate may constitute grounds for a revision request.

7. HEALTH EQUITY IN PUBLISHED CONTENT

7.1 Editorial commitment. European Gynecology and Obstetrics (EGO) recognizes that scientific knowledge in women's health has historically been shaped by research conducted predominantly in high-income settings, resulting in limited generalisability of findings to populations in low- and middle-income countries. The Journal is committed to supporting research that addresses health equity, health disparities, and the needs of underserved populations in gynecology, obstetrics, and reproductive medicine.

7.2 Scope of content commitment. The Journal welcomes submissions addressing: health inequalities and their determinants in women's health; research on the clinical and epidemiological context of LMIC populations; studies examining the impact of socioeconomic, geographic, or gender-based disparities on reproductive and gynecological health outcomes; and investigations into barriers to access to gynecological and obstetric care in underserved settings.

7.3 Non-discrimination in content selection. Editorial decisions shall not be disadvantaged by the geographic or institutional context of the research where that context is not scientifically determinative. Research conducted in resource-limited settings shall not be evaluated against benchmarks calibrated exclusively to high-income research environments, provided that methodological standards are met. Editors shall actively apply this principle in formulating editorial recommendations.

8. DIAMOND OPEN ACCESS AS AN EQUITY INSTRUMENT

8.1 Open access and equity. European Gynecology and Obstetrics (EGO) is published as a diamond open access journal: all content is available immediately upon publication under a CC BY 4.0 license, with no article processing charges, no submission fees, and no subscription charges for readers, as detailed in the Author Fees and Publication Charges Policy and the Open Access Policy.

8.2 Equity dimension. The diamond open-access model is explicitly recognized as an equity mechanism. It removes financial barriers to publication for researchers from institutions with limited resources, including those in LMICs, while ensuring unrestricted access to published research for all readers irrespective of institutional affiliation or geographic location. This commitment is aligned with the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI 2002, revised 2022) and with the principles of Plan S on equitable open access.

9. DATA COLLECTION AND MONITORING (DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION)

9.1 Progressive implementation. The Journal recognizes that systematic monitoring of DEI indicators requires the progressive development of data collection infrastructure. In the initial phase of implementing this Policy, the collection of demographic data on authors, reviewers, and editorial board members will be introduced incrementally, as technical and operational capacity permits.

9.2 Categories of data. The categories of data to be collected progressively include: country and region of institutional affiliation of corresponding authors, reviewer invitees, and editorial board members; gender identity of reviewer invitees and editorial board members, collected on a voluntary and optional basis using self-reported categories; and career stage of reviewer invitees and editorial board members.

9.3 Voluntary and anonymized collection. All data collection related to gender identity shall be conducted on a strictly voluntary basis. No individual shall be required to disclose gender identity as a condition of submission, invitation to review, or appointment to an editorial role. Collected data shall be processed in aggregate form only for monitoring and reporting purposes and shall not be used to identify individual authors, reviewers, or editors. When self-reported demographic data are published, the relevant response rate shall be disclosed, and non-response and "prefer not to say" categories shall be reported separately where this does not risk identifying individuals. No demographic indicator shall be estimated, inferred, or imputed from non-self-reported sources. All data processing shall comply with the Privacy and Data Protection Policy and with applicable data protection law, including Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR).

9.4 Country-level data. The country and region of the corresponding author's institutional affiliation are obtainable from submission records and shall constitute the primary initial monitoring indicator. Collection shall begin from the first annual reporting cycle following the adoption of this Policy.

9.5 Review and expansion. The scope and methodology of data collection shall be reviewed annually as part of the performance review cycle described in the Editorial Board Charter (Section 19). The Editor-in-Chief shall document the current state of data collection capacity and planned developments in the Annual Editorial Report (Section 10).

10. ANNUAL PUBLIC REPORTING (DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION)

10.1 Annual Editorial Report. The Journal publishes an Annual Editorial Report on the institutional website, as provided in the Peer Review Policy (Section 22) and the Editorial Board Charter  (Section 19). The Report includes a dedicated section on DEI indicators, which may be published together with, or cross-referenced to, the Annual Accessibility Report described in Section 21.3.

10.2 Mandatory DEI reporting categories. The DEI section of the Annual Editorial Report shall include, at a minimum, the following indicators where data are available: geographic distribution of Editorial Board members (by country or region); gender distribution of Editorial Board members (in aggregate, using self-reported data where available); career stage distribution of Editorial Board members; geographic distribution of reviewer invitations (by country or region); gender distribution of reviewer invitations (in aggregate and based only on voluntary self-reported data where available); career stage distribution of reviewer invitations, where available; completion rate of reviews by geographic region, gender identity, and career stage, where data are available and where reporting does not risk identifying individuals; geographic distribution of corresponding authors of submitted and published manuscripts; status of progress against the targets set forth in Sections 4 and 5; and planned actions for the following reporting period where targets have not been met.

10.3 Data limitations and response rate. Where data collection capacity does not yet permit reporting on a specific indicator, the Annual Editorial Report shall document the limitation explicitly and set forth the planned timeline for addressing it. No indicator shall be reported based on estimated or imputed data. For all self-reported demographic indicators, the Report shall disclose the response rate and distinguish reported data from non-response and "prefer not to say" categories, where doing so does not risk identifying individuals.

10.4 Trend analysis. From the second annual reporting cycle, the Report shall include a year-on-year comparison of available DEI indicators, enabling assessment of progress over time.

11. ANTI-HARASSMENT AND NON-DISCRIMINATION

11.1 Zero-tolerance policy. European Gynecology and Obstetrics (EGO) does not tolerate harassment, bullying, disrespectful conduct, or discrimination of any form in any interaction connected with the editorial process, whether between editors, reviewers, authors, or the Editorial Office. This commitment is outlined in the Editorial Board Charter (Section 10) and is binding on all parties interacting with the Journal.

11.2 Protected characteristics. Conduct constituting harassment or discrimination based on any of the following characteristics is expressly prohibited: race, ethnicity, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or belief, physical appearance, physical or mental disability, medical condition, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital or family status, age, socioeconomic status, language, career stage, or institutional affiliation.

11.3 Scope. This prohibition applies to all communications and interactions conducted in the context of the editorial process, including peer review correspondence, editorial decision letters, author communications, and editorial board interactions, whether in written, verbal, or electronic form.

11.4 Reporting. Any party who experiences or witnesses harassment, bullying, or discrimination in the context of the Journal's editorial process may report the matter through the mechanism established in the Complaints, Appeals and Whistleblowing Policy, which provides for confidential handling, protection of reporters, and prohibition of retaliation.

11.5 Consequences. Confirmed incidents involving members of the editorial leadership may result in early termination of the appointment, pursuant to the Editorial Board Charter (Section 7). Confirmed incidents involving authors or reviewers may result in exclusion from future submission and review activities.

12. AUTHOR NAME CHANGE AND METADATA CORRECTION

12.1 Right to name change. The Journal recognizes the right of any author to request an update to the name under which their work has been published. Such a request may arise from personal circumstances, including but not limited to: a legal name change following marriage, divorce, or civil registration; a change of name in connection with a gender transition or gender identity affirmation; or any other circumstance resulting in a legal or preferred name change. No explanation, documentation, or justification of the reason for the request is required from the author. This Section reflects the commitment of the Journal to non-discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression outlined in Section 11 of this Policy and in the COPE guidance on handling author name change requests post-publication.

12.2 Scope. This Section applies to changes to the name under which an author is listed in an article already published in the Journal. Requests for changes to authorship order, addition of authors, or removal of authors from published articles are governed by the Authorship Policy (AUP v1.1) and the Corrections and Retractions Policy. Requests to correct transcription errors in author names introduced by the Editorial Office or typesetter at the production stage are governed by the Corrections and Retractions Policy (Section 22).

12.3 Procedure. An author wishing to request a name change in one or more published articles submits a written request directly to the Editorial Office. The request must specify: (a) the article or articles concerned, identified by DOI or volume/issue reference; (b) the name as it currently appears in the publication; and (c) the name as it should appear after the correction. The Editorial Office acknowledges receipt within 5 working days and communicates the assessment outcome within 15 working days.

12.4 Implementation. Name changes requested under this Section are implemented as metadata corrections. Unless the author expressly requests otherwise in the submitted request, the implementation does not involve publication of an erratum or corrigendum notice, and no editorial note referring to the name change is appended to the published article. The correction is applied to: the article record in the OJS editorial platform; the Crossref metadata deposit (including the author name field and any linked ORCID identifier); and notifications to abstracting and indexing services, in accordance with the procedures set out in the Corrections and Retractions Policy (Section 22). The correction is completed within 30 working days of the request's confirmation.

12.5 Confidentiality. All name change requests processed under this Section are handled with full confidentiality. The reason for the request is not disclosed to editors, reviewers, members of the Editorial Board, or any third party. Data processing carried out in connection with name change requests, including the retention of correspondence, is governed by the Privacy and Data Protection Policy and by applicable data protection law.

PART B - ACCESSIBILITY

13. LEGAL AND NORMATIVE FRAMEWORK

13.1 European Union legislation. The Journal's accessibility commitments are grounded in the following legal instruments.

Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the accessibility requirements for products and services (European Accessibility Act, EAA). The Directive entered into force on 27 June 2019; Member States were required to transpose it by 28 June 2022 and to apply the national implementing measures from 28 June 2025. The Journal adopts the accessibility standards set out in this Policy as a matter of legal prudence, editorial responsibility, and inclusive scholarly communication. Where and to the extent that any Journal service or digital publication format falls within the scope of the EAA and of its national implementing measures, the Publisher will comply with the applicable accessibility requirements.

Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies (Web Accessibility Directive). Although formally directed at public sector bodies, its technical requirements - based on WCAG 2.1 AA and EN 301 549 - constitute the leading reference standard for digital accessibility in the EU and inform the commitments of this Policy.

UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Article 9 (Accessibility), ratified by Italy (Law n. 18 of 3 March 2009) and by the European Union (Council Decision 2010/48/EC). The CRPD establishes accessibility as a precondition for the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by persons with disabilities.

13.2 Italian national law. In Italy, the EAA has been transposed into national law through Decreto Legislativo 27 maggio 2022, n. 82 (D.Lgs. 82/2022). Edikta S.r.l., as Publisher of the Journal, adopts this Policy to ensure progressive alignment with applicable accessibility requirements, including those arising from D.Lgs. 82/2022 where and to the extent applicable to its publishing activities. AgID (Agenzia per l'Italia Digitale) has been designated as the competent supervisory authority for compliance with accessibility requirements under D.Lgs. 82/2022.

13.3 Technical standards. The following technical standards constitute the normative reference framework for this Policy.

WCAG 2.1 Level AA (W3C, June 2018): the primary conformance standard for website accessibility and digital content, adopted by reference in both the EAA and the Web Accessibility Directive. The Journal monitors developments regarding WCAG 2.2 (W3C Recommendation, October 2023) and will evaluate upgrading its conformance target as WCAG 2.2 becomes the regulatory baseline in applicable instruments.

PDF/UA (ISO 14289-1:2014): the standard for universal accessibility of PDF documents, specifying tagging, logical reading order, alternative text, and metadata requirements for screen reader compatibility. The Journal monitors the development of PDF/UA-2 (ISO 14289-2:2024), the successor standard for PDF 2.0 workflows. It will evaluate upgrading its PDF accessibility target as operational support for PDF/UA-2 matures across publishing infrastructure and toolchains.

EN 301 549 v3.2.1 (ETSI/CEN/CENELEC, March 2021): the harmonized European standard for ICT product and service accessibility, incorporating WCAG 2.1 by reference and constituting the presumption of conformity with the accessibility requirements of the Web Accessibility Directive and, where applicable, the EAA.

WAI-ARIA 1.2 (W3C Recommendation, June 2023): the specification for Accessible Rich Internet Applications, defining how to make dynamic web content and user interface components accessible to assistive technologies.

NISO Z39.86-2005 (DAISY): the standard for digital accessible information system publications. NISO Z39.86 is referenced as a long-term aspirational standard for the Journal's digital publication formats.

14. ACCESSIBILITY COMMITMENT

14.1 General commitment. The Journal is committed to ensuring that the Journal website, published articles, editorial platform, and related processes are progressively accessible to all users, in accordance with the legal obligations arising from Directive (EU) 2019/882 and D.Lgs. 82/2022, and in alignment with the foundational commitment outlined in Section 3.5.

14.2 POUR principles. The Journal's approach to accessibility is guided by the 4 POUR principles of WCAG 2.1: (a) Perceivable - information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive; (b) Operable - interface components and navigation must be operable by all users; (c) Understandable - information and operation of the user interface must be understandable; (d) Robust - content must be robust enough to be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including current and future assistive technologies.

14.3 Progressive implementation. Given the constraints of the Journal's operational infrastructure - including the current capabilities of the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform and existing article production workflows - the Journal commits to progressive accessibility implementation in accordance with the roadmap outlined in this Policy. The Journal will not use the progressive implementation framework to defer compliance indefinitely; all commitments in this Policy are binding and are monitored and publicly reported annually (Section 21).

14.4 No financial barriers. Reasonable accommodations, accessible format versions of published content, and accessibility assistance are provided at no cost to users. This commitment is consistent with the Journal's diamond open-access model and zero-charge publication framework, as outlined in the Author Fees and Publication Charges Policy.

14.5 Universal design and reasonable accommodation. The Journal pursues universal design - accessibility built into the website, editorial platform, and published content so that use does not require adaptation or specialist intervention (Section 2) - as its primary objective. Reasonable accommodation and accessible-format provision (Sections 16.3 and 19) serve as complementary safeguards when universal design has not yet been fully achieved for a given user or item of content. The two mechanisms are cumulative rather than alternative: the availability of accommodation does not diminish the Journal's commitment to progressively eliminating the need for it.

15. WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY

15.1 Target standard. WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the binding conformance standard for the Journal website (egojournal.eu). The Publisher ensures that the website design, template, navigation, forms, and all publicly accessible content conform to the success criteria of WCAG 2.1 AA. Where a specific element cannot be brought into conformance for demonstrable technical reasons, that non-conforming element, the reason, and the planned remediation are individually documented in the Accessibility Statement (Section 15.2); technical infeasibility is treated as a documented, time-bound exception, not as a general qualification of the standard.

15.2 Current status and disclosure. As of the effective date of this Policy, the Journal website is hosted and managed by Quoll (Italian hosting provider, EEA servers). Known accessibility limitations of the current website and OJS installation are disclosed in the Accessibility Statement published at https://www.egojournal.eu/accessibility. The Accessibility Statement is updated following each annual accessibility audit (Section 21.1) and upon identification of any significant new limitations. The Accessibility Statement includes at minimum: (a) the declared conformance status (fully compliant / partially compliant / non-compliant) with reference to the applicable standard and version; (b) the evaluation method used (self-assessment, third-party audit, or combination); (c) the date of the most recent assessment; (d) a list of known accessibility barriers and their planned remediation timeline; (e) the contact and feedback mechanism described in Section 21.5; and (f) information on the supervisory role of AgID (Agenzia per l'Italia Digitale) as the authority designated under D.Lgs. 82/2022 for accessibility compliance, where applicable. The declared conformance status represents the Journal's assessed position as at the date of the most recent assessment (point (c) above) and is not a permanent determination. The status "partially compliant" reflects the ongoing transition described in Section 14.3 and is updated at each assessment to reflect remediation progress.

15.3 Technical measures. The Journal implements, or works progressively towards implementing, the following accessibility measures on the Journal website:

• Keyboard accessibility: all pages and interactive elements are navigable via keyboard, without requiring use of a pointing device.
• Screen reader compatibility: the website is tested for compatibility with widely used screen readers, including NVDA (Windows), JAWS (Windows), and VoiceOver (macOS/iOS), in recent stable versions.
• Skip navigation links: a "skip to main content" link is provided at the top of each page, enabling users of assistive technologies to bypass repetitive navigation elements.
• ARIA attributes: Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA 1.2) attributes are used to expose the structure and functionality of dynamic content and interactive elements to assistive technologies.
• Color contrast: text and interactive controls maintain a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 against the background for normal-sized text and 3:1 for large text, in accordance with WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.4.3.
• Font size adjustability: all text on the website can be resized up to 200% without loss of content or functionality.
• Alternative text for images: all informational images carry meaningful alternative text. Purely decorative images carry null alternative text.
• Meaningful link text: all hyperlinks carry descriptive text that is meaningful without additional context, avoiding non-descriptive text such as "click here" or "read more".
• Form accessibility: all input fields carry accurate labels and error messages readable by assistive technologies.
• Language identification: the website's language is declared in the HTML "lang" attribute; content in other languages is identified at the element level.
• Captions and transcripts: any audio or video content published on the Journal website carries closed captions and, where applicable, a textual transcript.

15.4 Third-party content and services. The Journal is not directly responsible for the accessibility of third-party content embedded in or linked from the Journal website. The Journal endeavors to select third-party service providers that meet WCAG 2.1 AA requirements and informs providers of the Journal's accessibility expectations upon entering or renewing service agreements.

15.5 Annual monitoring. The accessibility of the Journal website is assessed through annual automated and manual testing as described in Section 21.1. The results of each annual accessibility audit are summarized in the Accessibility Statement and in the Annual Accessibility Report (Section 21.3).

16. PUBLISHED CONTENT ACCESSIBILITY

16.1 Target standard for articles. For all articles published from Issue 2/2026 onwards, the Journal ensures that at least one accessible galley format is available for each article - an HTML galley conforming to WCAG 2.1 Level AA served through OJS, and/or a tagged PDF galley - this being a current and binding requirement. PDF/UA-1 (ISO 14289-1:2014) is the target conformance standard for PDF galley versions and is implemented progressively; where full PDF/UA-1 conformance of a specific article is not yet technically achievable, this is treated as a documented, time-bound exception consistent with the comply-or-explain approach of Section 15.1. The accessible HTML galley ensures baseline accessibility in the interim. The Journal monitors the adoption of PDF/UA-2 (ISO 14289-2:2024) as a future target standard as support for PDF 2.0 production workflows matures (see Section 13.3).

16.2 Specific content accessibility measures. The following measures are implemented or progressively implemented in all articles published from Issue 2/2026 onwards:

• Tagged PDFs: all published PDF articles carry logical reading order tags, heading structure tags, and document properties required by PDF/UA, enabling screen readers to navigate and interpret the document correctly.
• Alternative text for figures and images: all figures, graphs, photographs, and visual displays carry meaningful alternative text descriptions. Initial descriptions are provided by authors at the submission stage and confirmed by authors at the proof stage (Sections 18.2 and 18.6).
• Table accessibility: all tables carry appropriate header row markup, row and column scope attributes, and a title or caption enabling users of assistive technologies to interpret the table structure correctly.
• Equation accessibility: where technically feasible, mathematical and statistical equations are encoded in MathML or accompanied by a textual description enabling rendering by screen readers and Braille displays.
• Document metadata: all published PDF articles carry complete and accurate document properties (title, author name(s), publication date, language) enabling correct identification by assistive technologies and indexing platforms.
• Language identification: the document language is declared in the PDF document properties.
• Color independence: information is not conveyed through color alone. Where color is used to convey meaning in a figure or chart, a secondary indicator (pattern, label, or textual annotation) is also provided.
• JATS XML: the Journal progressively implements JATS XML v1.4 structured markup (NISO Z39.96-2024) for published articles, enabling accessible downstream rendering across platforms and repositories. JATS XML production is coordinated with archiving and indexing workflows.

16.3 Accessible format request. Readers requiring an accessible version of a specific published article may submit a request to the Editorial Office at info@egojournal.eu with the subject line "Accessible Format Request". An accessible-format request under this Section is a form of accommodation request and follows the response timeline of Section 19.3: the Editorial Office acknowledges receipt within 2 business days and provides a substantive response within 5 business days confirming the accessible format to be supplied; delivery of the accessible version of the article is then completed within 10 business days of the request. No cost is charged for this service.

16.4 Accessibility metadata. Accessibility metadata conforming to Schema.org accessibility properties and Crossref metadata recommendations will be progressively added to the Journal's article records, enabling discovery of accessible content through indexing platforms.

17. SUBMISSION AND EDITORIAL PROCESS ACCESSIBILITY

17.1 OJS platform. The Journal uses Open Journal Systems (OJS), developed by the Public Knowledge Project (PKP), as its editorial management platform. As of the effective date of this Policy, OJS 3.x has known accessibility limitations that PKP is actively working to remediate as part of its accessibility program aligned with WCAG 2.1 AA. The current state of OJS accessibility and PKP's accessibility roadmap are publicly documented on PKP's website at https://pkp.sfu.ca/accessibility.

17.2 Alternative submission pathway. Authors, peer reviewers, or editorial board members who are unable to use the OJS platform due to accessibility limitations may submit manuscripts, reviews, or other materials directly to the Editorial Office by email at info@egojournal.eu. The Editorial Office will process submissions received via email in the same manner as those received through OJS, confirming receipt within 2 business days and integrating them into the standard editorial workflow.

17.3 Editorial communications. All editorial communications from the Journal - including desk rejection notifications, peer review invitations, revision requests, acceptance notifications, and proofing instructions - are issued in plain text or accessible document formats. Authors and reviewers who require communications in an alternative format may submit a request as described in Section 19.

17.4 Deadline adjustments. Authors or peer reviewers who require extended revision or review deadlines due to accessibility-related needs may request an extension by contacting the Editorial Office at info@egojournal.eu. Extension requests are assessed on a case-by-case basis, having regard to the Journal's editorial timelines as outlined in the Peer Review Policy.

18. AUTHOR GUIDANCE ON ACCESSIBLE CONTENT

18.1 Purpose. Authors are encouraged to prepare manuscript files that facilitate the production of accessible published articles. Accessible manuscript preparation reduces the remediation effort at the production stage and improves the quality of the final published article for all readers, including those using assistive technologies.

18.2 Figures and images. Authors are requested to: (a) provide meaningful alternative text for all figures, graphs, photographs, and images included in the manuscript; (b) describe in the alternative text the key information conveyed by the image, not merely its visual appearance (e.g., "bar chart showing 3-year overall survival rates by treatment arm" rather than "Figure 2"); and (c) ensure that colour is not the sole means of conveying information in any figure (see Section 16.2, colour independence).

18.3 Tables. Authors are requested to: (a) designate header rows clearly in all submitted tables; (b) indicate, where applicable, which column headers apply to which data rows; (c) provide a title or caption for each table; and (d) avoid merging cells in ways that disrupt logical reading order.

18.4 Manuscript file format. Authors are requested to submit manuscripts in Microsoft Word (.docx) using standard paragraph styles (Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3) for section and subsection titles, rather than manually formatted text. Use of standard heading styles enables the typesetter to produce correctly tagged PDF output with minimal additional remediation.

18.5 Equation notation. Where manuscripts include mathematical or statistical equations, authors are requested to use standard equation notation (LaTeX or Microsoft Equation Editor/MathType) and to provide a plain-language textual description of complex equations where this assists readers unable to render the equations visually.

18.6 Proof review. At the proof stage, authors will be asked to review and confirm the alternative text descriptions that the typesetter has applied to all figures and images. Authors bear responsibility for ensuring that confirmed alternative text descriptions are accurate, specific, and meaningful.

18.7 Further resources. Further guidance on creating accessible manuscripts is provided in the Submission Guidelines. Additional resources on accessible content creation for academic publishing are available from the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (https://www.w3.org/WAI/) and the DAISY Consortium (https://www.daisy.org/).

19. ACCOMMODATION AND ASSISTANCE REQUESTS

19.1 Right to request accommodation. All users of the Journal website, authors, peer reviewers, and editorial board members may request reasonable accommodation to enable participation in the editorial process or access to published content on an equitable basis, in accordance with the foundational commitment outlined in Section 3.5.

19.2 How to request accommodation. Accommodation requests shall be submitted to the Editorial Office by email at info@egojournal.eu with the subject line "Accessibility Accommodation Request". Requests shall describe, as specifically as necessary, the nature of the assistance sought. Disclosure of the specific underlying disability or medical condition is not required.

19.3 Response time. The Editorial Office will acknowledge receipt of an accommodation request within 2 business days and provide a substantive response - including confirmation of what accommodation can be provided - within 5 business days. Requests requiring technical assessment may take additional time; in such cases, the Editorial Office will communicate an estimated timeline in its initial acknowledgment. Where the accommodation requested is an accessible-format version of a published article, delivery is completed within the timeline set out in Section 16.3.

19.4 Types of accommodation available. Accommodations that the Journal can provide include: (a) alternative formats for policy documents and author guidelines; (b) extended submission or revision deadlines; (c) extended peer review deadlines; (d) alternative submission and review pathway by email (Section 17.2); (e) accessible versions of specific published articles (Section 16.3); and (f) modified communication formats for editorial correspondence.

19.5 Privacy. Accommodation requests and the information provided therein are processed in accordance with the Privacy and Data Protection Policy. No more personal data is collected than is necessary to process the specific request. Accommodation requests are not disclosed to peer reviewers or to other participants in the editorial process.

19.6 No disadvantage. No person making an accessibility accommodation request will be disadvantaged in any aspect of the editorial process as a result of having made such a request.

20. LEGACY CONTENT

20.1 Definition. For this Section, legacy content includes all articles, editorial items, policy documents, and other materials published on the Journal website before the effective date of this Policy.

20.2 Approach to legacy content. Independent of any legal exemptions or transitional provisions that may apply to pre-existing content under national law, the Journal adopts a voluntary and progressive remediation approach for legacy materials. Published articles pre-dating this Policy that have not been subsequently updated or substantially revised may not fully conform to the accessibility standards outlined in Section 16. The Journal does not use this circumstance to defer remediation indefinitely; it applies the prioritization criteria outlined in Section 20.3 to bring priority legacy content into conformance progressively.

20.3 Prioritization. The Editorial Office maintains a register of legacy content remediation requests. Priority for remediation is assigned to: (a) articles subject to a specific accessible format request from a user (Section 16.3); (b) articles with the highest usage metrics (downloads and abstract views in the preceding 12 months); and (c) articles cited in clinical practice guidelines or systematic reviews.

20.4 Target timeline. The Journal aims to complete accessibility remediation of the principal body of legacy content within 5 years of the effective date of this Policy. Annual progress against this target is reported in the Annual Accessibility Report (Section 21.3).

21. MONITORING, TESTING, AND PERIODIC REVIEW (ACCESSIBILITY)

21.1 Annual website accessibility audit. The Journal conducts an annual audit of the accessibility of the Journal website, comprising: (a) automated testing of all key pages using recognised tools, including WAVE, Axe, and Pa11y; (b) manual testing of a representative sample of pages using assistive technologies; (c) review of all accessibility complaints and feedback received in the preceding 12 months; and (d) assessment of progress against the technical measures outlined in Section 15.3.

21.2 Annual article accessibility review. The Journal conducts an annual review of article production processes to assess compliance with the content accessibility requirements of Section 16. The review includes examination of a representative sample of PDF articles produced in the preceding 12 months for PDF/UA conformance.

21.3 Annual Accessibility Report. The results of the annual website audit and article accessibility review are summarised in an Annual Accessibility Report, published on the Journal website at https://www.egojournal.eu/accessibility within 60 days of the audit's conclusion. The report discloses: the conformance level achieved; known accessibility barriers and their planned remediation timeline; the number and types of accommodation requests received in the preceding year; and any changes to the accessibility implementation roadmap. The Annual Accessibility Report may be published together with, or cross-referenced to, the DEI section of the Annual Editorial Report described in Section 10.1.

21.4 Accessibility conformance report. The Journal will develop an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR), structured similarly to the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) published by the Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC), that documents the extent of conformance with applicable standards. The first ACR is planned within 24 months of the effective date of this Policy.

21.5 Accessibility feedback. Users who encounter accessibility barriers on the Journal website or in published articles are invited to report them to the Editorial Office at info@egojournal.eu with the subject line "Accessibility Feedback". The Publisher reviews reported barriers and, where confirmed, incorporates remediation into the next development or production cycle.

21.6 Policy review cycle. This Policy is reviewed annually by the Publisher in consultation with the Editor-in-Chief. The Policy is updated: (a) at each annual review; (b) upon the entry into force of new legal obligations affecting digital accessibility or affecting diversity, equity, and inclusion in scholarly publishing; (c) upon the adoption of a later version of WCAG (which EN 301 549 incorporates by reference) or of an updated version of EN 301 549 as the applicable regulatory baseline; and (d) upon receipt of substantive feedback indicating that the Policy does not reflect the Journal's current operational practice.

PART C - CLOSING PROVISIONS

22. RESPONSIBILITIES

22.1 Editor-in-Chief. The Editor-in-Chief bears primary responsibility for the implementation of Part A of this Policy across all editorial activities of the Journal, and exercises editorial oversight of the Journal's accessibility commitments under Part B. Specific responsibilities include: ensuring that Board composition meets the targets outlined in Section 4; monitoring reviewer diversity; commissioning the DEI section of the Annual Editorial Report; ensuring that resources on implicit bias awareness are available to editors and reviewers; escalating systemic DEI concerns to the Publisher; ensuring that accessibility is considered in decisions relating to the format and presentation of published content; and reviewing the Annual Accessibility Report.

22.2 Associate Editors and Section Editors. Associate Editors and Section Editors are responsible for applying the reviewer selection criteria outlined in Section 5 in the management of assigned manuscripts. They are expected to actively diversify their reviewer pools beyond established networks, with particular attention to early-career researchers and to reviewers from underrepresented geographic areas.

22.3 Editorial Office. The Editorial Office is responsible for: supporting data collection activities as outlined in Section 9; coordinating the preparation of the DEI section of the Annual Editorial Report; maintaining reviewer invitation records in a format that enables DEI monitoring; receiving and processing accommodation and assistance requests (Section 19); communicating the availability of the alternative submission pathway to authors, reviewers, and board members requiring it (Section 17.2); communicating accessibility expectations to authors at submission stage, including the guidance outlined in Section 18; coordinating the provision of accessible format versions of published articles (Section 16.3); and maintaining the legacy content remediation register (Section 20.3).

22.4 Publisher - Edikta S.r.l. The Publisher is responsible for providing the operational and technical resources required to progressively implement the data collection and monitoring activities described in Section 9; for incorporating DEI obligations into editorial leadership contracts pursuant to the Editorial Board Charter (Section 8); for compliance with the obligations of Directive (EU) 2019/882 and D.Lgs. 82/2022; for ensuring that the Journal website is maintained in progressive conformance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA; for providing the operational and financial resources necessary to implement and maintain the accessibility measures outlined in Part B; for selecting and instructing the typesetter on PDF/UA requirements; for conducting or commissioning the annual website accessibility audit (Section 21.1); for publishing the Annual Accessibility Report (Section 21.3); and for ensuring that this Policy is publicly accessible on the institutional website at a stable and linkable URL.

22.5 Typesetter. The typesetter is responsible for: (a) ensuring that all newly produced PDF articles conform to PDF/UA (ISO 14289-1:2014); (b) applying appropriate heading tags, logical reading order, and complete document metadata to all produced PDFs; (c) implementing alternative text for figures and images and submitting descriptions to authors for confirmation at proof stage; and (d) flagging to the Publisher any systematic barriers to PDF/UA compliance arising from author-supplied manuscript files.

22.6 European Society of Gynecology. The European Society of Gynecology (ESG), as the scientific society on behalf of which the Journal is published and as owner of the Journal title, is expected to align its engagement with the Journal with the DEIA principles outlined in this Policy, exercises governance oversight of Part B, and is informed of any material changes to the Journal's diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility commitments.

23. INTERNATIONAL NORMATIVE REFERENCES

• COPE - Committee on Publication Ethics. Position statement: diversity and inclusivity in research publishing. Available at: https://publicationethics.org/topic-discussions/diversity-and-inclusivity-research-publishing
• COPE Core Practices. Committee on Publication Ethics, 2019. Available at: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices
• C4DISC - Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications. Focused Toolkit for Journal Editors and Publishers: Building Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in Editorial Roles and Peer Review (2024). Available at: https://c4disc.pubpub.org
• Heidari S, Babor TF, De Castro P, Tort S, Curno M. Sex and Gender Equity in Research: rationale for the SAGER guidelines and recommended use. Research Integrity and Peer Review. 2016;1:2. Publisher Correction: Res Integr Peer Rev. 2024;9(1):15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41073-016-0007-6
• STM Association. DEI Resources for Publishers. Available at: https://stm-assoc.org/what-we-do/core-services/early-career-publishers/dei-resources/
• Royal Society of Chemistry. Joint Commitment for Action on Inclusion and Diversity in Publishing (2020). Available at: https://www.rsc.org/policy-evidence-campaigns/inclusion-diversity/joint-commitment-for-action-inclusion-and-diversity-in-publishing/
• EASE - European Association of Science Editors. SAGER Guidelines. Available at: https://ease.org.uk/communities/gender-policy-committee/the-sager-guidelines/
• World Bank. World Bank Country and Lending Groups (income classification). Available at: https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519
• Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) 2002, revised 2022. Available at: https://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org
• Plan S - Principles and Implementation. cOAlition S. Available at: https://www.coalition-s.org
• Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the accessibility requirements for products and services (European Accessibility Act). OJ L 151, 7.6.2019. Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2019/882/oj/eng
• Decreto Legislativo 27 maggio 2022, n. 82 - Attuazione della Direttiva (UE) 2019/882 sui requisiti di accessibilità dei prodotti e dei servizi. GU Serie Generale n.124 del 28-05-2022.
• Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies. OJ L 327, 2.12.2016.
• United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), adopted 13 December 2006, entered into force 3 May 2008. Ratified by Italy (Law n. 18 of 3 March 2009); EU ratification: Council Decision 2010/48/EC. Available at: https://www.ohchr.org
• W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. W3C Recommendation, 5 June 2018. Available at: https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/
• W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. W3C Recommendation, 5 October 2023 (informative reference). Available at: https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/
• ISO 14289-1:2014. Document management applications - Electronic document file format enhancement for accessibility - Part 1: Use of ISO 32000-1 (PDF/UA-1). Geneva: International Organization for Standardization.
• ETSI EN 301 549 V3.2.1 (2021-03). Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services. Sophia-Antipolis: European Telecommunications Standards Institute.
• W3C Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) 1.2. W3C Recommendation, 6 June 2023. Available at: https://www.w3.org/TR/wai-aria-1.2/
• NISO Z39.86-2005. Specifications for the Digital Talking Book (DAISY). Baltimore: National Information Standards Organization. Available at: https://www.niso.org/publications/z3986-2005
• NISO Z39.96-2024. JATS: Journal Article Tag Suite, Version 1.4. Baltimore: National Information Standards Organization.
• org Accessibility Properties (accessibilityFeature, accessibilityHazard, accessibilitySummary, accessibilityAPI). Available at: https://schema.org/accessibilityFeature
• WebAIM Million Report (annual). WebAIM, Utah State University. Available at: https://webaim.org/projects/million/
• PKP Open Journal Systems (OJS) - Accessibility Documentation. Public Knowledge Project. Available at: https://pkp.sfu.ca/accessibility
• Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 (General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR).