We continue to thank IDSA’s 2018-19 Inclusion, Diversity, Access and Equity Task Force, pictured above at IDWeek in October, 2018: 1st row, left to right: Jasmine Marcelin, MD; Katie Bourgoin; Salandra Fleming; Tina Tan, MD, FIDSA. 2nd row, left to right: Raul Macias Gil, MD; Dawd Siraj, MD, FIDSA; Chris Busky, CAE; Janet Gilsdorf, MD, FIDSA, FPIDS; Ravina Kullar, PharmD, MPH, FIDSA; Paul Auwaerter, MD, MBA, FIDSA; Lilian Abbo, MD, FIDSA. Not pictured: Maria Alcaide, MD, FIDSA; Jose Caro, MD; Katherine Moyer, DO; Manal Youssef–Bessler, MD.
We’d like to provide an update on some of the Society’s Inclusion, Diversity, Access and Equity activities over the past few months. As you will recall, last October the Board reauthorized the IDA&E Task Force for an additional year with a charge to prioritize initiatives from the Roadmap and Strategies document created by the 2018-19 Task Force for implementation. Following a call for volunteers the 2020 members were selected in March, however activities as planned were placed on hold due to COVID-19.
Several weeks into the pandemic, the Task Force began working on initiatives that highlight the disproportionate impact the pandemic is having on vulnerable communities. In partnership with our Public Policy and HIVMA teams, we developed perspectives and policy briefs highlighting the impact of COVID-19 on underserved populations disproportionately impacted and included recommendations to reduce health disparities including Medicaid expansion, uniform data reporting on race and ethnicity, greater access to testing, protections for frontline workers, and housing and food assistance.
On June first, we released a statement in response to the tragic death of George Floyd, speaking out against systemic racism and related public health issues. The Task Force will continue to prioritize actions that will help end systemic racism pursuant to our mission and guiding principles in addition to supporting our broader IDA&E plans.
We look forward to keeping the membership community informed of our efforts to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19, as well as sharing our work applying the principles IDA&E throughout every facet of our Society.
Please join us in welcoming the members of the 2020 IDA&E Task Force:
- Tina Tan, MD, FIDSA (Chair)
- Hilary Babcock, MD, MPH, FIDSA, FSHEA
- Raul Macias Gil, MD
- Angelica Cifuentes Kottkamp, MD
- Ravina Kullar, PharmD, MPH, FIDSA
- Jasmine Riviere Marcelin, MD
- Carina Marquez, MD
- Trini A Mathew, MD, MPH, FIDSA
- Loren Nunley, MD, MBA
- Damani Piggott, MD, PhD
- Talia Swartz, MD, PhD
- Uzma Syed, DO
We are #IDA&E, we are #Diversity, the #FacesofID and #FutureofID
Its first goal was to develop guiding principles for the Society to ensure that the IDSA Board and committees reflect the depth of diversity within our membership, including race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, geographic location, clinical vs. non-clinical, among other factors.
The following principles were approved by the IDSA Board on Dec. 6:
We are committed to build a Society based on the principles of Inclusion, Diversity, Access, and Equity (IDA&E). To achieve this, we will intentionally:
- Cultivate a welcoming environment where differences are embraced, valued, and respected.
- Ensure that processes, policies, and practices foster fairness, belonging, equity, and reflect the views and values of our Society,
- Guarantee transparency to promote fair treatment and access to opportunities for all members within all levels of the organization.
The task force will also help develop professional pathways that expand the Society volunteer leadership pipeline and create a IDA&E roadmap that provides a clear definition, metrics and guidance on the Society’s ongoing efforts to achieve and maintain inclusion, diversity, access and equity.
At its March 2019 meeting, the IDSA Board of Directors approved the following Case Statement:
To promote unrivaled healthcare delivery, education, research and advocacy within our organization, IDSA embraces inclusion, diversity, access and equity (IDA&E) as key drivers of excellence and innovation. Our goal is to create a welcoming environment that recognizes the value of individuals with diverse backgrounds, talents, experiences and perspectives, and empowers them to fulfill their full potentials within the Society and in the community. We strive to build collaborative relationships with other organizations to further ensure the success of our Society's missions, and we serve as a champion for the principles of IDA&E in the global Infectious Diseases community.
We build our IDA&E principles on the foundation of published data demonstrating that:
- Diversity increases creativity and innovation, promotes higher quality decisions, and enhances economic growth.1
- Diversifying leadership helps to cultivate, develop, and advance new talent and presents new opportunities for organizations.2
- Teams comprised of individuals with varying perspectives, ideas, and backgrounds outperform homogeneous teams on problem solving tasks.3
- Inclusive environments are intrinsically tied to collaboration, innovation, and ultimately intellectual excellence.4
- The primary way to diversify leadership is to systematically eliminate barriers for advancement for those traditionally underrepresented, cultivate the talent pipeline, and integrate IDA&E principles throughout our organization.
IDSA will lead by example on IDA&E in the following ways:
- IDSA recognizes and honors the histories, accomplishments and legacies of all people; seeks to secure the future excellence of an innovative and creative Society; and intentionally recruits individuals with diverse talents into the organization.
- IDSA cultivates leaders who respect and value differences and empowers our members, whose diverse perspectives and experiences strengthen their decision-making.
- IDSA supports cultural awareness in order to facilitate excellence in education, research and healthcare delivery to a global community with different backgrounds, values and attitudes in order to address their needs in a sensitive and competent manner.
- IDSA is committed to creating and implementing accountability strategies to ensure sustainable progress in achieving our IDA&E goals and to publishing the results of our assessments.