I am excited to share that the Green Inequality Lab is now the Reproductive Equity Action Lab (REAL).
When I started the Green Inequality Lab more than six years ago, our focus was on studying the links between racial inequality and health more broadly. After returning to UW-Madison in 2019, I realized that it was time to focus completely on the work that mattered most to me—reproductive equity. Wisconsin’s distressingly high rates of Black infant mortality tend to grab the most headlines. However, birth-related inequities are only one piece of a larger puzzle.
Evidence shows us that if we want our society to thrive, individuals must be able to choose whether to get and stay pregnant, have a safe birth, and raise families in safety. Yet, this evidence often stays behind journal paywalls and never gets to the communities and decision makers that can translate knowledge into action. Our group was determined to find a new way of doing things and making the work we do matter. Out of these conversations, REAL emerged as a vehicle for change.
Our new name reflects our vision: A world that guarantees reproductive autonomy, equity, and justice.
Our mission tells you how we do our work each day: We conduct rigorous and cutting-edge research that grapples with the major barriers to reproductive autonomy. We partner with community-based organizations, governmental agencies, and private sector decision makers to support evidence-based, transformative policies. We advance a more just and inclusive science by creating opportunities for the next generation of researchers, clinicians, and community leaders.
You can explore our core values here, but let me highlight a few:
- First, we center the voices of people whom science has excluded in the past and present. We do so because expanding the seats at the table makes the science better.
- Next, Reproductive Justice is our North Star. That means that addressing structural barriers like poverty and discrimination that get in the way of bodily autonomy and self-determination is a non-negotiable part of our work.
- Finally, we are a multidisciplinary team that innovates and challenges the reproductive health status quo through mixed-methods research. We follow the data where it leads but also value imagination. Imagination is where the possibilities for a better future become REAL.
I invite you to learn more about the Reproductive Equity Action Lab (REAL) on our website, including our ongoing projects and incredible team (I pinch myself every day knowing that I get to work with such amazing people). Stay up to date with and engage with us by following us on Instagram and LinkedIn. We have so many exciting things coming down the pipeline, including opportunities to join us as we grow.
Thank you for your continued support, collaboration, and engagement.
Tiffany L. Green, PhD
Director, Reproductive Equity Action Lab (REAL)
Gloria E. Sarto, MD, PhD Chair in Women’s Health and Health Equity Research
Associate Professor
Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Population Health Sciences
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health