Here's how you can foster diversity and inclusion within your organization.

In health systems cultural Competence must be applied to: 1.American Born Physicians to Foreign Born Patients 2.Foreign Born Physicians to American born patients 3.American Born Physicians to American Born Patients who are different than themselves Understanding these concepts will improve patient Engagement and communication and as a result improve health outcomes for patients

Begin by obtaining critical insights that can drive positive change. Collect relevant data in key areas such as representation, recruitment, retention, and opportunities for growth and promotion. Examine your workforce demographics thoroughly. Look at your policies and practices through a lens of potential biases. Listen to the experiences and feedback of your employees. This rich data will help you identify which areas are lacking, where gaps exist, and where opportunities lie for focused improvement. Knowledge is power. A deep understanding of your current landscape will shape your diversity and inclusion strategy, and enable you to create an environment where every individual feels valued and has the opportunity to thrive.

Start by establishing baseline measures using the data collected in the previous step. Then, set targets. For example, you might aim to increase the representation of underrepresented groups in leadership positions by a certain percentage within a specified timeframe. Next, report the results of your analysis and outline new initiatives. Structure a winning plan that defines the 'what' and the 'how'. This plan should include strategies, actions, and timelines to achieve your goals. Lastly, commit to your plan and monitor its progress regularly.

Education is a journey not a destination. Commit to making DEI education an ongoing priority for your organization. It isn't about checking a box but rather committing to thinking outside of the box when learning about diversity, equity and inclusion. There has been so much fear and anger towards DEI. Lack of education about what it is, how it is defined and operationalized, and how it can benefit everyone, needs to be the overarching theme. Albert Einstein once said "once you stop learning, you start dying." It's imperative that we commit to continuous learning especially when we speak about DEI.

I think one of the big things is education around DEI. And honestly, how the term may need revising after it has been so vilified I don't know if it can be reclaimed. But when I've promoted DEI work, specifically around employing those with disabilities/autism, I stress that it's not a "feel good" situation. It's looking at the flaws we have that keep us from great people/workers. Applications, interviews, etc. It then evolves into making sure people know all minds think and communicate differently. Being open to accommodations or finding best ways for one, can open up lines of productivity never before seen. It's actually ludicrous for decades we expected a one size fits all approach works.

As a starting point, take a look at your data and determine the places there are disparate outcomes by race, gender or other dimensions of difference. Are less women being promoted? Are neurodivergent folks or those with disabilities being pushed out? Are Black folks or folks of color more likely to be put on PIPs or fired? Do leaders of color make less than their peers at the same level? When you find these gaps, *those* are the places I’d start in terms of understanding root causes and where the systems are unjust and implementing fixes. I agree that taking a step back and thinking holistically about how equity lives in your org is important but let’s put out the fires you already have first before doing this broader work.

Create the talent you need Access to continuous learning and professional development opportunities are an important way organisations can upskill current diverse talent at the company and unlock the full potential of their people. Organisations can also help develop talent with career mapping, internal job mobility, and tools to help match internal candidates to development opportunities.

Diverse and inclusive teams create more unconventional ideas Ideas aren’t created out of thin air. They’re created by people — by teams of people. And the more diverse these teams are along many dimensions (culture, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age, experience level, educational background, expertise, etc.), the more likely they are to draw inspiration from seemingly unrelated places. These idea combinations lead to more unlikely — and more innovative — ideas

La diversidad es un cambio cultural que lleva tiempo y por ende debe trabajarse de manera constante a través de eventos, capacitaciones, valores, proceso, etc.

Diverse teams are better at making decisions When it comes to deciding which ideas to test and put more resources behind, diverse and inclusive teams are far better than homogenous ones. The more diverse the team, the better the team’s decision. James Surowiecki’s book “The Wisdom of Crowds” also supports this idea. When teams increase their level of difference, they increase their chances of selecting an idea that is game-changing. Because diversity of thought stretches a team in ways that can be uncomfortable, but effective. Diversity of thought also fuels employee trust, which raises employees’ ambition level on what they believe they can accomplish and redefines the parameters that they otherwise operate within.