Organizational Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement
At the Barnard Center, we utilize the definition of diversity that includes the full range (majority and minority) of identities and social positioning factors and circumstances including, but not limited to, race, gender, class, ability, sexuality, location (urban/suburban/rural), immigration status, and nationality. We recognize that it is critically important for those of us in leadership positions to articulate our commitment to reflect on, and learn about, the experiences of populations that are not typically represented by the dominant (white, middle class) culture so that we may be held accountable to advancing equity and justice. We are also committed to recognizing how we, or the systems we work in, reinforce and benefit from social structural inequality. We recognize that addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion is both deeply personal and institutional. At the Barnard Center for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, we aim to support all staff, students, and faculty in the process of learning about and reflecting on how we can be agents of change for the infant mental health field.
There are several ways in which we as educators seek to assure that our trainings are informed by diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) approaches and strategies. We do this by 1) making our trainings more accessible to all participants, especially those who have not had access to our trainings, 2) by attracting and mentoring diverse learners and future leaders, 3) by equipping our educators with the tools they need to facilitate hard conversations that may occur in practice, and by 4) undertaking critical self-reflection in the process of doing this work and supporting self-reflection of our staff, students and faculty.
