Dear Sleep Research Society Members,
I hope this announcement finds you staying safe and healthy during these uncertain times.
As you may be aware, the current SRS strategic plan specifically highlights diversity and inclusion as a strategic priority for our society. As such, earlier this year, to address this strategic priority, the SRS Board of Directors formed a Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, for which I serve as Chair. The Task Force actively guides the SRS in developing statements, policies, and initiatives that encourage diversity, equity and inclusiveness in the membership of our society. We are working on several important initiatives to meet this mandate.
One of the most timely and critical initiatives of the Task Force was to create a diversity, equity and inclusion mission statement, which can be found below. In addition to dissemination to the membership via this blog, the mission statement will be placed on our society webpage, and it will be distributed to all SRS standing committees and other SRS entities as a reference to be used when developing and implementing their own initiatives and priorities. We look forward to doing our part in creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for sleep and circadian researchers and welcome your comments regarding this.
Best wishes,
Namni Goel, PhD
Chair, SRS Diversity and Inclusion Task Force
SRS Board Member
SRS Executive Committee Member
SRS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Mission Statement
The Sleep Research Society (SRS) views diversity, equity, and inclusion of its community – including in its leadership, committees, staff, and members – as vital components of its mission to advance sleep and circadian science. The SRS is committed to being a scientific community that recognizes, appreciates, values and welcomes the different and wide-ranging dimensions that contribute to the society, including: age, race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disabilities, socioeconomic status and disadvantaged backgrounds, religious beliefs, political affiliations, life and research experiences, background and perspectives, national origin, military or veteran status, geographic regions and cultures. These broad dimensions drive scientific innovation and discovery, improve the quality of our community and our science, and ultimately, the success of our society. Therefore, the SRS strives to create an environment of open-minded dialog, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
