Plaintiffs’ Reply to Mount Sinai’s Time’s Up Healthcare Announcement
August 28, New York, NY:
As plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit recently filed against Mount Sinai for sex, age and race discrimination, we feel compelled to respond to Mount Sinai’s announcement regarding its status as a signatory to Time’s Up Healthcare (TUHC).
We first thank TUHC for its excellent work. We applaud Mount Sinai’s decision to finally become a Time’s Up Healthcare signatory, despite its leadership having declined to sign in October 2018, prior to the filing of our lawsuit. It is gratifying that following the publicity arising from our case and internal pressure from Sinai’s employees, students, and trainees (and the hiring of their second P.R. firm) Mount Sinai has now agreed to join TUHC and has launched a slew of new initiatives to counter gender discrimination and advance gender equity at Mount Sinai.
However, these stand in sharp contrast to Sinai’s continuing blatant dismissal of the charges of sex, age and race discrimination from the eight of us, who are former and current employees. In light of Mount Sinai President and CEO Ken Davis’ recent comments that “this case is simply without merit,” we cannot let the signing of the TUHC declaration be used as a smokescreen to hide their protection of a structurally discriminatory environment and the discriminators who perpetuate it.
It is distressing that, rather than use this case as an opportunity to acknowledge a significant problem and make serious attempts to address it, Mount Sinai leadership is choosing to dig in its heels in denial and self-protection. This is wasteful. As this case goes on, we plaintiffs, the many individuals who support us, and indeed the whole Mount Sinai community is being subjected to unnecessary expense and harm. This is a waste of our energy, our time, our talent and our lives.
For us as plaintiffs, this has been a lesson in how institutional structural violence works, and how it responds to those who would call out injustices. The mistreatment outlined in our complaint, which Mount Sinai leadership allowed to flourish, is just the tip of the iceberg. Over the last few months, employees from across the Mount Sinai Health System have contacted us to share their own stories of discrimination and injustice. Two common elements in all these stories have been fear and silence — the fear that speaking out will result in retaliation from the highest levels, and the resulting silence that allows this power dynamic to continue unchecked. For a healthcare system and academic medical center that prides itself on humanistic values and a Dean who touts a “zero tolerance” policy towards bullying, this is a travesty — and completely unacceptable.
We will not be silenced. We understand that speaking out puts us at risk and we are facing our own fears every step of the way. We understand that speaking out puts those who support us at risk, and we are deeply grateful to you for standing with us, despite your fear. Thank you for your courage.
Now, with the signing of the TUHC declaration, Mount Sinai has an obligation and a responsibility to do the real work to dismantle systems that perpetuate injustice in the medical school and throughout the health system.
— The time is now to acknowledge and correct past harms.
— The time is now to protect all who have risked their reputations and careers to speak the truth about systemic injustices or shared their personal experiences of discrimination.
— The time is now to replace superficial overtures with substantive action to ensure a safe, equitable, and dignified environment for all who work and learn at Mount Sinai.
Natasha Anushri Anandaraja
Holly Atkinson
Emilie Bruzelius
Mary Caliendo
Humale Khan
Geraldine Llames
Amanda Misiti
Stella Safo
