This blog was written and posted by the AED Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee to the Board.
Less than 48 hours prior to our first monthly committee meeting of 2021, the world witnessed a mob of armed white supremacists force their way into the U.S. Capitol, occupying the building for hours and driving democratically elected members of Congress into hiding. Unsurprisingly, our meeting agenda changed course. Our usual “quick check-in” at the start of the meeting extended to 30 minutes as each of us needed to connect with our colleagues in response to this violent insurrection. Moreover, it felt important to check in with our wider, global AED community.
We know many members have been affected by this siege on democracy and witnessing this flagrant reminder of white supremacy. We particularly wish to send our solidarity to our Black, Indigenous, Asian, Latinx, and Jewish colleagues, patients, and families. We trust our white members, especially those in positions of power and leadership, have taken time to reflect upon how such examples of white supremacy on a world stage can harm the wellbeing of all those oppressed by whiteness. We encourage you to keep showing up.
While we navigate the repercussions of recent events in the U.S. professionally and personally, we endeavour to continue to orient ourselves with ways in which we can take action to become a more equitable, inclusive community. Upon our recommendation, this year the AED will be hiring a diversity, equity and inclusion consulting firm to work with AED leadership throughout the year to audit our organization and provide us with strategic recommendations for changes we can make within AED to advance DEI goals. We look forward to updating you on the progress of this action.
More broadly, we wish to remind members of ways to exercise your individual rights for democracy within the AED with three calls to action. First, the deadline for nominations for AED leadership positions and awards closes on January 31st – please consider making a nomination. This is an opportunity to give recognition to underrepresented members of our community, boosting individual careers and enriching the field of eating disorders. Please click here to make a nomination.
Second, we also would like to alert your attention to a recent paper titled “Upending Racism in Psychological Science: Strategies to Change How Our Science is Conducted, Reported, Reviewed & Disseminated” written by NiCole T. Buchanan, AED Board Treasurer Marisol Perez, Mitchell J. Prinstein, and Idia B. Thurston. This excellent paper provides 25 clear actions for ending systematic racism within psychological science. We recommend reading it and seeing if there are any additional actions you can implement in your practice or workplace.
Third, we are excited to share that the theme of this year’s ICED conference is aptly, Diversity. While abstract submission has closed, there are still many ways you can help us realize the potential of our conference theme. We encourage you to consider the language and imagery you use in your presentations and posters. We invite you to attend and engage in DEI-focused sessions – please remember to ask questions. Finally, we ask you to take time to reflect on ways you can specifically support AED members from underrepresented groups. For example, this could be through providing constructive feedback on their works in progress, sharing their published scholarship on social media, offering mentorship and inviting collaboration for grants and publications.
As a committee, we are hoping for a gentler rest of month for each of us and for our community. We thank you all for your continued support of our efforts to make our global organization more inclusive for all.
Yours,
The AED Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee to the Board