The 2014 Lactation Summit was designed to listen and learn from the missing voices of the profession so that strategies for dismantling institutional oppression within the profession can be developed.
Much was learned from the 2014 Summit, but there is still listening to be done. Over the past few months, Lactation Matters broke out the Summit finding from each community that spoke at the Summit. We wanted to pull together all of those posts for you here in one round up as we look ahead to the Lactation Equity Action Seminar, a half day event designed to address the cultural and classist barriers to the IBCLC profession to be held Tuesday, 21 July 2015 in Washington, DC, USA.
The 2014 Summit was the result of a year-long planning effort by a 22-member design team made up of diverse representatives from seven countries of the world. It was hosted jointly by International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners® (IBLCE®), International Lactation Consultant Association® (ILCA®), and Lactation Education Accreditation and Approval Review Committee (LEAARC).
The design team recommended a structure to hear from 26 individuals representing the following categories:
- African Americans in the U.S.
- Hispanics in the U.S.
- Native Americans in the U.S.
- North and South America
- Asia Pacific
- Russia and Europe
- Communities that cross geographic and ethnic lines (males, lay breastfeeding support groups, those working in remote regions of the world, and the LGBTQI community)
While there are specific barriers unique to various racial, ethnic, geographic, and other groups, several general themes emerged that were common to many of the groups. These findings will help guide future discussions and action plans needed to dismantle institutional oppression.
You can find a summary of each panel here:
Other Perspectives Crossing Cultural and Geographic Lines
To access information on all of the panels presented, read a complete summary of the report here.
We hope that, after reading, you will consider sharing your comments, ideas, and suggested solutions. Please click here to offer your input.
We also hope you will join us for the Lactation Equity Action Seminar. Learn more here!
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