UNITE CO-CHAIRS ’ CORNER: Announcing the Inaugural UNITE Progress Report

Guest post originally published on the NIH Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity Office Blog. Today we published our first NIH UNITE Progress Report! Covering Fiscal Years 2021–2022, the UNITE Progress Report describes NIH’s actions to identify and address structural racism that may exist within the NIH and in the biomedical and behavioral research enterprise. It discusses UNITE’s initial efforts across four focus areas that aim to elevate health disparities and minority health research across institutes and centers (ICs), promote equity in the NIH-supported biomedical and behavioral research ecosystem, promote equity in the internal NIH workforce, and improve accuracy and transparency of racial and ethnic equity data related to these efforts. UNITE was formed amidst stark health inequities highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the horrific surge of racially motivated violence in 2020 and 2021. At NIH, these events led us to see the reality of racial inequities in biomedical and behavioral science with fresh eyes. We were dismayed by the inestimable loss of talent, creativity, and innovation due to long-standing cultures of exclusion in biomedical science. And we recognized that it was time to unite and enact a seismic shift in NIH systems, policies, and cultures. Our efforts were fostered by internal conversations among NIH leadership during the summer of 2020 and lessons from NIH’s diversity efforts and initiatives within the NIH Office of the Directo...
Source: NIH Extramural Nexus - Category: Research Authors: Tags: blog Open Mike COVID-19 scientific workforce diversity UNITE Source Type: funding