If we learned anything from the pandemic, we learned how Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion were absent in IT at UCSF. Like many other Universities, we formed a committee designated to tackling issues of DEI in IT. We are passionate about going above and beyond the average lip service of other organizations. We are actively working on changing racist and outdated terminology in tech, for example, the use of "blacklist" and "whitelist", where black is inherently bad and white is good. We have been advocating for changes in our products and found that they have been responsive to making these changes across their portfolio. "Block" and "Allow" can easily replace "Blacklist" and "whitelist."
Because seeing is believing, we revamped our zoom landing page to exemplify diverse people in areas of research, healthcare, and education. We communicate to IT Staff about monthly DEI topics, training, town halls, and other awareness activities.
We want to open up a conversation with our peers about DEI successes, struggles, and approaches.