Adopt a mission and infrastructure for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) within the department
- Create a leadership and committee/workgroup infrastructure that is embedded within the broader departmental leadership structure to support and carry out the department’s DEI mission and goals
- Create, develop and support affinity group opportunities and advertise and promote the activities and meetings throughout the department
- Craft a mission statement with associated goals
- Develop guidance and informal mechanisms for faculty, staff and trainees in the department to discuss, address and resolve DEI concerns
- Allocate funds to advance DEI initiatives
- Recognize and reward DEI and social justice leaders
Promote a diverse, equitable, inclusive and socially just culture that increases department members’ experience of being valued and belonging and able to realize their authentic potential as individuals and as a collective
- Foster a culture and climate characterized by respect for diversity defined broadly, equity, inclusiveness, empowerment, responsivity to concerns and accountability
- Create an environment that supports respectful and open discourse regarding differences in perspectives and beliefs and that fosters growth and cultural humility
- Pursue disagreements with openness, curiosity, thoughtfulness and care
- Increase transparency and openness in communication and decision-making regarding departmental policies and procedures, leadership appointments, recruitment, retention and promotion etc.
- Create spaces and leadership roles for diverse voices
- Engage in department wide actions that reflect social justice values
- Advocate for equity and social justice both within and outside of the department
Secure and maintain a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workforce
- Increase the diversity of the members and leaders of the department community so there is greater representation
- Recruit, mentor and retain diverse faculty, staff, and trainees
- Promote diverse faculty, staff and trainees
- Provide equitable recognition and reward
- Ensure that leadership at all levels represents the breadth of diversity and social identities
Educate members of the department community and relevant stakeholders regarding DEI and social justice
- Encourage and support self-discovery and awareness of one’s own social identities1 and biases and their impact on professional activities2 and interactions
- Integrate all forms of individual and cultural diversity throughout departmental educational programs
- Undertake actionable professional development initiatives that provide ongoing learning and growth opportunities for members of the department community related to implementing and practicing the principles and values of DEI and social justice
- Organize events in partnership with other components of Emory University and the broader community that promote DEI and social justice
- Develop and disseminate educational materials regarding the intersection of DEI and psychiatry and behavioral sciences through various platforms
- Provide DEI learning opportunities for consumers/patients
- Learn from community partners, learners, patients/families and research participants about their cultural backgrounds, values and preferences to enhance the cultural responsiveness of all our professional activities
Increase the cultural responsiveness of departmental activities and services
- Infuse diversity and social justice in all departmental educational endeavors
- Provide and advance culturally responsive behavioral health services for the diverse population in Atlanta, as well regionally, nationally and internationally
- Conduct, lead, and disseminate advances in culturally informed research and other scholarly initiatives
- Collaborate with diverse community partners to overcome barriers to culturally responsive service, teaching and scholarship and to advance DEI and social justice
Establish and sustain departmental accountability for short and long-term progress in DEI and social justice efforts
- Ascertain current and desired culture and climate
- Identify diversity-related challenges within the department and systematically address these difficulties with cultural humility toward the goal of full inclusion
- Delineate methods and metrics for assessing progress across pre-determined areas that will be monitored related to service, teaching, and scholarship
- Assess progress on a regular basis across domains
- Share the findings with the community on a regular basis
- Develop action plans based on the assessments aimed at improving the departmental culture and climate by correcting and eliminating systemic issues, barriers and/or practices that interfere with fairness, access and equality in service, teaching, and scholarship endeavors
1 Social identities – An individual’s social identities indicates who they are in terms of the groups to which they belong (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender, social class/socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender identity, (dis)abilities, religion/religious beliefs, etc.)
2 Professional activities – Professional activities includes service, teaching, and scholarship.