The ORS is a dynamic scientific community that accelerates musculoskeletal discovery to improve health. Society activities and governance aim to engage conscientious individuals from diverse social, scientific and professional backgrounds to achieve our goals and positively impact our community. The ORS cultivates a diverse, inclusive and engaged community by promoting and increasing equitable access and opportunities to individual of all races, ages, ethnicities, nationalities, gender identities, sexual orientations, abilities, incomes, religions, and all other forms of human diversity.

The ORS is a community brought together by a passion for excellence in musculoskeletal (MSK) research. Fundamentally, engineers, clinicians, and biomedical researchers have brought their individual points of view together to push our field forward and expand our ability to treat numerous MSK diseases. However, we are more than the sum of our professions. The ORS consists of individuals from around the globe, each with unique experiences, priorities, and perspectives. To ensure a world without musculoskeletal limitations, the ORS is committed to include and value the different perspectives of our members from all backgrounds. This requires deliberate work promoting equity and dismantling barriers in support of a more inclusive and more diverse environment.  For example, actions by the Women’s Leadership Forum have demonstrably increased the participation of women in the ORS and the MSK field at large. Still, the goal of full participation and inclusion for everyone is not complete and not the responsibility of any single group within the ORS. Here, we define Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for ORS leadership in hopes that continued dialogue and collaborative efforts will make the ORS a comfortable scientific home for everyone.

Diversity is the cultivation of a membership that reflects the physical and social characteristics that make an individual or group of individuals different from one another. The continuing priority for the ORS is a membership that is representative of all stakeholders for orthopaedics and musculoskeletal research and reflects the patients that our clinical and research activities ultimately serve. This community includes clinicians, basic scientists, and industry/private sector members of all races, career levels, ethnicities, nationalities, gender identities, sexual orientations, abilities, religions, and other forms of human diversity.

Inclusion transcends diverse representation and is the creation of an environment of involvement, respect, understanding, and connection in which every member of the organization has the opportunity to be heard and participate. Without inclusive, respectful practices, an organization can be exclusionary of different perspectives, even with representation of diverse lived experiences.

Equity refers to the enactment of specific policies and practices that ensure access and opportunities for success for every member of our community. Equity is different from equality; to be equitable, individuals may not necessarily be treated the same. To be equitable, individuals must be treated according to their unique needs and provided multiple opportunities for success. For example, services may need to be provided to accommodate disabilities, language barriers, or disadvantages due to bias to ensure the same access and successful participation at events and activities provided by the ORS throughout the year. 

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