From UFOs to DEI: Why diversity, equity and inclusion should go interstellar

The summer of 2023 has set many records beyond the climbing thermometer. As we set our sights on autumn and returning to school, we are living in an environment where more acronyms are entering our lexicon-illustrative of how our world is dramatically changing.

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) are acronyms increasingly woven into conversations that reflect our lives and our connections to each other on this planet.

Many articles that I’ve written in this publication are on DEI. I have discussed its importance in relation to COVID infections, personal protective equipment (PPE), artificial intelligence (AI), Centers of Excellence (COEs) and the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), among others. The need to address human factors and social determinants such as age, race, ethnicity, sex, gender and cultural and socioeconomic status to advance precision medicine, innovation and even design across all aspects of our lives has been a mantra in my work.

My goal has been to raise awareness and enlighten the public, including leaders who are creating the policies and programs that transform our existence. 

As DEI programs in universities are being eliminated across the nation by local governments, which claim that they foster discrimination and indoctrination, questions arise as to how these issues became polarized and politicized. 

More than a dozen state legislatures have introduced bills to eradicate DEI offices, claiming that their resources can be better utilized. On the other side, proponents have said that DEI efforts “help create an academic community that generates a higher enrollment rate, matriculation rate and eventual success.”

It is disappointing that DEI has become divisive, which is just the opposite of what it was designed to do: unite, foster collaboration and promote “equity.” If DEI programs were not successful, one must ask why. Is it due to a lack of funding, institutional or organizational support from top leadership, or marginalization rather than integration into the cultural milieu? Is it treated as an afterthought — basically checking off a box? A rigorous review and discussion, in order to ensure that everyone feels they are heard, can go a long way toward achieving sustainable DEI.

I felt an awe-inspiring sense of optimism and gratitude when I was invited to testify before the White House National Space Council led by then-Vice President Mike Pence in August 2019. I recall thanking him for his support for gendered innovation and design to address the unique differences in how men and women adapt to space.

After I testified and answered his question about why diversity was important to enhancing team performance and mission safety and success, Pence said it was “imperative that NASA and our private sector partners lean in clear-eyed and account for the unique differences and challenges that men and women face in space exploration.” He pledged to do just that. 

Issues surrounding DEI are not unique to a political party or nation and shouldn’t just apply on this planet. They support all human beings to live and work well in safely in any environment on Earth and in space. I’ve noted in past work in this publication that ensuring diversity is accounted for in our resources, opportunities and tools is the moral, ethical, legal and financially sound act to take. 

Examine the economic perspective — reaching audiences that have not had a voice can be quite lucrative. For example, “Barbie,” the film, has generated more than $1 billion dollars in just a few weeks since its 2023 summer premiere reflecting that women and girls are major consumers in society. I told Pence that half of the taxpayers in this country are women and they fund the space program and deserve to be represented. It is just common sense that this should happen in every aspect of our lives.

In July 2023, there was a congressional hearing on UFOs. In response to a question asked by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), a former U.S. intelligence official testified that nonhuman biological remains, or “biologics,” were found in crash sites on this planet. 

Imagine the day when we all may encounter a being from another planet. At that moment, all the divisions that separate us on Earth will disappear and everyone will simply identify as human beings, as Earthlings. 

Yet, there still will be more that connects us to beings from another rock in a galaxy than divides us. After all, everything in the universe is made from celestial dust from the beginning of time. 

Saralyn Mark, M.D., is the founder of SolaMed Solutions LLC, host of the “Always Searching” podcast and founder of iGIANT (Impact of Gender/Sex on Innovation and Novel Technologies). She is the director of health innovation for Star Harbor and a former senior medical and policy adviser to the White House, the Department of Health and Human Services and NASA.