The first element of good management practice, simply because it affects all others, is commitment by those in the top echelons. In an academy, it is the president and council that must commit to including qualified women scientists throughout their organization, to appointing women to decision-making committees, and to introducing gender-equality principles into the academy’s offices, programmes, and research institutes. In that spirit, the Advisory Panel recommends that the president and council of each academy sign a public commitment statement, a sample of which is shown in Box