The 5th Wiley Society Member Survey was conducted in May 2019. We received responses from 3,112 members who either consume, produce, utilize, or support scientific research, from more than 20 countries and across 40 disciplines. This year, we intentionally sought more responses from outside the USA and Western Europe than in the past, making the results more reflective of the diversity of the global research community.This made it clear that the research world is more disparate and, in some cases, such as in the Asia-Pacific region, more contradictory than we have seen. Previously identified observations, such as an increase in respondents' simultaneous membership of multiple societies, have been consolidated, whereas others, such as the demand for support from societies for high standards of publishing ethics, are new to this survey. Central to the survey's findings is the continuing rise in researcher demand for open access and open research as tools for both consumption and production of research. Ultimately, by using these findings, this article suggests some strategies to enable societies to navigate their way through this new and constantly evolving world of academic research.

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) is a key priority for many organizations and institutions, including learned societies. With diversity at universities, both in the UK and around the world, being reported as low, it was decided to make DE&I one of the main areas of enquiry for the seventh Wiley Society Member Survey, conducted in May 2021. We found that satisfaction with levels of representation for gender, race and ethnicity was falling and that the impact of the coronavirus pandemic had disproportionately affected those already most disadvantaged within the academic hierarchy. In order to fully understand the current status of DE&I in academia, and within societies in particular, this paper also draws on other research undertaken or supported by Wiley, including a survey of journal editors and the Brave New World study, as well as further research in which Wiley was not involved. What it shows is that academic research, learned societies and publishing all have their own DE&I issues that need to be addressed, but that through improved DE&I can come better research.

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Key points There is less awareness of open‐access publishing amongst practitioners than amongst their academic colleagues. The requirement for certification is a significant driver of professional society membership, particularly for those in clinical and veterinary medicine. Flipping a society journal from a subscription model to fully open access may drive down satisfaction. Professional society members state a desire for increased collaboration with academics and feel that societies have a role to play in this. Satisfaction levels with society membership are generally low amongst early career members (ECMs), but there are some clear opportunities for targeted services to improve this. Awareness of open access is reasonably high, and there are calls for greater transparency and improved data sharing, particularly from ECMs and engineers.