Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in Genetics

The Department of Genetics understands that outstanding science is driven by diversity. We strive to create an inclusive community of faculty, staff, and students whose voices and contributions are valued and respected to better represent the communities we serve. To that end, we are currently developing and implementing a range of educational and operational initiatives to catalyze the transformation of our institutional culture towards an inclusive environment that nourishes individuals of all backgrounds. Through this, we recognize diversity and inclusion as fundamental for promoting scientific creativity, innovation, and scientific discovery.

The Department’s core philosophy is that the path to exceptional science is through creating a supportive and positive environment for all its trainees, staff, and faculty members across a diversity of life experiences and backgrounds. We have several support mechanisms in place at the trainee and faculty level that are designed to help our members thrive. We have further begun work to create targeted programs specifically to support underrepresented minorities (URMs) in science. To this end, we are partnering with organizational psychologists and our own Yale faculty with School of Medicine Diversity Officers Deputy Dean Darin Latimore and Associate Dean Rochelle Smith to promote education, practices, and policies that will breakdown bias and exclusion in our community and move the culture towards a more supportive and equitable environment for all.

Given the role that scientists, including those at Yale University, have played in using genetic arguments to champion racism, it is contingent on us, as the Department of Genetics at Yale, not only to denounce these scientifically flawed and abhorrent views, but also to actively pursue initiatives to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion in our community, scientific endeavors, and society at large. We are eager to do more to promote diversity, equity and inclusion including for URMs not mentioned above such as LGBTQ, people with disabilities and additional forms of racial discrimination as well as intersectionality across these groups.