Thread by @societyforepi

So obviously I’ve spent a lot of time talking about equity in our discipline, and I hope all folks understand that pursuing equity is the right thing to do if for no other reason than for the sake of justice and fairness...1/n

But improving equity in our field and our training allows for a broader set of voices to sit at the table, and this not only improves our science, but will improve our impact on society. 2/n

Reader: “Wait, you’re not about to do another thread, are you?”

Me: Yep!

Reader:

So what do I mean by voices at the table?
I mentioned earlier how we each have a unique set of experiences that shape the way we see the world, the way we think, and shapes our ideas! By limiting the perspectives that influence our field, we limit the range of possible ideas 3/n

There are tangible ways that this manifests. One of my favorite lessons from Critical Race Theory is that there is no such thing as an objective investigator. On the contrary, our biases shape the way we engage with data, our approaches, and even the questions that get asked! 4/n

Limiting the perspectives that sit at the proverbial table limits the scope on the problems we think to pursue. 5/n

At the risk of ruffling feathers 🙈, this is one thing I think our discipline has struggled with. Past conversations regarding causal frameworks haven’t always done the best job of framing a particular framework as A framework for causation and not THE framework 6/n

These very impassioned conversations regarding what can and can’t be considered a cause though engaged in with good intentions, may have unintentionally communicated that certain epidemiological questions shouldn’t be pursued 7/n

But what I KNOW from speaking with folks, especially POC, is there are people who stopped attending the annual meeting because they felt that their intellectual perspectives and research agendas were not valued, and that is tragic. 8/n

It’s why I am so happy for the emergence of #BlackEpiMatters and the @black_epi twitter account at last year’s annual meeting. 9/n

Among other things, #BlackEpiMatters is working to amplify and broaden the voices at the table and the work of scholars addressing racial equity in health. 10/n

One needs to look no further than a recent string of posts by @black_epi to see the importance of diverse perspectives in terms of the way we view the current Covid-19 pandemic. 11/n

Okay, so what can we do? Well if you already have a seat at the table
1. Take a critical inventory of who is missing from the table
2. Use your position to not only open a door, but to afford them POWER at the table
3. Recognize that might mean relinquishing some of your own
12/n

If you don’t already have a seat, keep pushing. If you’re a trainee, a great way to find a seat is to get involved with the SER Student-postdoc committee. I spent 2yrs on the committee previously and would be happy to answer questions about the experience 13/n