The National Institutes of Health (NIH) UNITE Announces Listening Sessions to Discuss Racial & Ethnic Equity

Author:

When: January 12, 2022 @12pm to 1:30pm ET

Purpose:

The purpose of this Notice is to announce the UNITE Listening Sessions Series for multisector stakeholders. UNITE was established to identify and address structural racism within NIH-supported entities and the greater scientific community. NIH acknowledges the experiences of those affected by race and ethnicity-based discrimination and is committed to eliminating racial and ethnic inequities within NIH, as well as the NIH-supported external scientific workforce, and the NIH-funded research portfolio. The ability of NIH to remain at the forefront of biomedical research and to ensure that scientific discoveries truly benefit everyone depends upon diverse skill sets, viewpoints, and backgrounds. As a global leader in biomedical research, NIH carries a weighted responsibility to address the structural challenges and barriers affecting the NIH workforce and the biomedical community that hinder the progress necessary to support true health equity. Enhancing workforce diversity and equity across the biomedical enterprise are critical steps to achieving progress.

The upcoming listening sessions are one component of UNITE’s efforts to listen and learn. Key stakeholders across the full biomedical research community, who work and serve in diverse settings and hold various roles, and who partner and collaborate with research teams have important experiences and insights to share. These sessions are intended to foster an environment where participants feel safe to contribute their unique perspectives candidly, as opposed to an effort to seek group or consensus advice.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Changing culture to promote equity, inclusivity, and justice
  • Improving policies, transparency, and oversight
  • Strengthening career pathways, training, mentoring, and the professoriate
  • Ensuring fairness in review and funding deliberations
  • Enhancing funding and research support for diverse institutions and historically under-resourced research areas
  • Structural racism in the biomedical research enterprise

Please register today: Listening Sessions - NIH Stakeholders Discuss Racial & Ethnic Equity

For more information, visit the UNITE website.