The British Society for Immunology is proud to launch our Diversity & Inclusion framework, which outlines our commitment to how we are going to work with our members and community to ramp up our equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) work and respond to members’ needs.
Building on past and ongoing activities, our new framework highlights some of our future focal areas for diversity and inclusion at the BSI, and begins to set our long-term plan of action in this area.
Embedding EDI in all our activities is one of the cornerstones of our five-year strategic plan and is vital to the future of immunology and of the BSI.
To realise our vision of better health for all through immunology we need to build a fairer, more inclusive immunology community, with and for our members.
Professor Arne Akbar, President of the British Society for Immunology, said:
“The immense passion and dedication we see in all of our members has played a critical role in advancing our understanding of the immune system and delivering real benefits to global health. However, for immunology to unleash its full potential and maintain the incredible transformation we’ve seen in recent years, we must move forward in our journey to becoming a truly diverse and inclusive community.
"The British Society for Immunology’s diversity and inclusion framework begins our long-term plan of action in this area which, together with the support from our community, will enable a fair and equal working environment and better health for all through immunology.”
Dr Doug Brown, Chief Executive of the British Society for Immunology, said:
"For many years, we have worked hard to open the doors of immunology and show that it can be a fulfilling career path for everyone. Our starting point has always been listening to our community.
"We know that we must continue to make progress in EDI, and it is through this two-way conversation with our members that we have developed our first diversity and inclusion framework. With it, we are renewing our commitment to building a fairer, more inclusive immunology community in which opportunities are within reach to the broadest range of people."
Our Diversity & Inclusion framework has been developed in consultation with the BSI Board of Trustees and thanks to the helpful discussions with our membership’s Forum. Our committees will work with BSI staff to deliver this framework and apply the principles of EDI in every aspect of the organisation.
We hope that this framework strengthens everyone’s commitment to EDI and encourages our wonderful members to continue their inspiring efforts towards a fairer, more inclusive world of immunology.
If you have questions, comments or feedback on this framework or diversity and inclusion matters, we would love to hear from you. Please contact us at inclusion@immunology.org.