Introducing Carolina Price, MPA, of the Section of Infectious Diseases.
What does diversity, equity, and inclusion mean to you personally?
It's easy for some people to get caught up in the rhetoric that DEI is a new "token term" or department that workplaces suddenly care about, but DEI brings attention to a very important element of creating a space that is reflective of the world around us. To me, DEI means having the ability and capacity to see yourself in the spaces that you occupy and exist under such as your work team, department, leadership, or government. It means that there is not only active representation of yourself, but that there exists a pathway to new opportunities for participation and representation as well. I personally value and enjoy working alongside people with different lived experiences and points of view. I think it's important that we are unified in creating a world (especially at Yale) with diversity, equity, and inclusion in mind and at every level, and to take a collective approach to forging pathways that allow new people to enter.
Why do you value diversity?
I am Central American, and a woman. I already represent two minority groups that are still statistically underrepresented and undervalued in academia and leadership. I am extremely proud of where I am and how hard I've worked to get here, and I know others who feel the same about themselves. I want to have an opportunity to collaborate with, learn from, and work under people with different lived experiences and perspectives than me, that is what makes me a better human being and that is what makes us a stronger team.
Why should an academic setting be equal and inclusive?
What happens in academia sets the tone in a lot of ways. Our research is meant to expand knowledge and inform practice and policy. It is important to remember that real people are impacted by our work. Whether practitioners use our research to design a new program or those on capitol hill use our data to write a new bill, it is up to us at the outset to keep DEI in mind. We need to be especially aware of gaps where they exist, and without having equality and inclusivity, we create a great disservice to the world we claim to want to impact.
What do you look forward to most?
I look forward to using my position as a program manager to uplift others and do my part in creating a more diverse and equitable world. I would love to see other do the same, especially those who recruit, hire, train, and oversee staff. We all have work to do.
The Department of Internal Medicine’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Internal Medicine knows that diversity, equity, and inclusion is critical to our mission; that providing a safe, welcoming environment for people of all backgrounds results in beneficial diversity of thought; and believes that having a diverse team enhances our ability to provide excellent clinical care, research, and medical education.