Diversity and inclusion mission statement

We, the members of the Genetics Department at Harvard Medical School, are committed to expanding and fully supporting diversity in our community. We do not tolerate racism or discrimination of any kind. Everyone is welcome in our department, people of any race, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, or nationality. Our goal is for every member to feel included, safe to be themselves, and capable of fulfilling their potential. Not only does a lack of diversity impoverish the culture of our community – it also narrows our perspective on the scientific needs of society as a whole.

The work of transforming academia into an anti-racist, diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment is the responsibility of all members of our community, especially those with the privilege of belonging to historically over-represented groups. It is our shared community’s responsibility to protect, advocate, and empower its most vulnerable members, within and beyond the walls of our research institutes.

We seek to actively rectify racial inequality within our department and in science at large. A lack of diverse representation in academia has arisen from a long-standing history of structural racism which has permeated our institutions, limited our scientific endeavors, and perpetuated social injustice. We feel a special obligation to address racism across the field of genetics, to ensure that our work serves diverse populations and that our science is used to further equality in society. In the past, the field of human genetics has been wrongly used to justify ‘race science’ and racist ideologies. Today, a lack of diversity in human genetics studies impacts our ability to fully understand human biology, and contributes to a lack of trust in science, ultimately exacerbating health disparities and inequalities.

Black, Latinx, Indigenous and other underrepresented scholars have been marginalized in science. Laboratories within influential institutions such as Harvard Medical School have a particular responsibility to fix the ‘leaky pipeline’ issue in STEM. Underrepresented minorities, in academia and beyond, have been burdened by inequality and the need to advocate for themselves. Finally, our community extends beyond the scientists in our labs to the administrative staff, maintenance, and other essential workers, without whom our science would not be possible. Custodians, cleaners, and cafeteria workers are integral to our community. Yet, their voice has been largely unheard in conversations about equality in academia.

We pledge to :

Promote, conduct, and support research that is inclusive and unbiased.

To use our voice, platform, and influence to take a stand against racial and social injustice.

To create an environment that supports members of our community from minority groups

To work at the individual lab and Departmental level to increase the representation of historically excluded identities.

To involve all community members in building a more inclusive environment.