Chapter - 3 *Increasing Minority Representation in the Healthcare Industry*

Topics/areas of coverage would include: - Importance of diversity - Understanding

systemic diversity issues - Diverse and culturally sensitive healthcare providers - The
need for diversity in the healthcare workforce - Gender balance - Racial diversity and
cultural competence - Promoting cultural diversity - Diversity of leaders in healthcare
(including case studies) - Utilizing technology to improve diversity in healthcare -
Diversity in educational programs - Impact of exclusion in research on access to
treatment

IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSITY

Diversity refers to the combination of certain dimensions of difference (patient’s biology,

gender, age, culture, and education) that interact and can result in dissimilar needs and
preferences . These differences in health demand require careful evaluation because of
disparities and disadvantages in access, diagnosis, and treatment between patient populations.
The unequal allocation of healthcare services can adversely affect patients’ health. The
question is whether or not this body of knowledge has been implemented and what the
barriers and opportunities are to integrate diversity in healthcare practices. Diversity has long
been ignored as a relevant issue on policy agenda’s in healthcare research and practices. The
current approach in healthcare is more or less neutral and widely used as a golden standard.
Neutral means an a priori assumption that equality stands for non-discrimination by not
making differences in healthcare. However, this approach is not accommodated to a diverse
patient population and promotes preservation of inequalities. A concept that makes the
multiple combinations of diversity dimensions in patients visible is needed. The basis and
sensitivity for dimensions of diversity seems to be poorly developed in healthcare delivery.
Current healthcare practices are structured in ways that support the neutral approach and keep
dimensions of diversity invisible and hidden. It is not widely acknowledged that differences
matter and can have clinical implications. A well-known case at this point is the presentation,
diagnosis and treatment of angina pectoris (chest pain) by men and women. Men do mostly
present their symptoms in a classical or typical manner, whereas women present it mainly
atypically. Because of physicians’ bias (focus on typical symptoms and presentation style)
men are easily diagnosed as suffering from severe angina pectoris, while women with the
same problems (but different presentation style) are left unnoticed. Men were more often than
women referred to a specialist. Undertreatment of women with angina pectoris is also related
to socioeconomic status (SES); the lower the status, the higher the rate of morbidity. This
example, illustrating the relevance of both sex and SES, shows the need to move beyond a
neutral approach. Clinical practice guidelines and policy instruments can play an important
role in this movement given their impact on decision making in care giving.
 Medicine is a highly homogenous field serving diverse populations—and that’s a
problem. Diversity in health care goes far beyond a language barrier. It’s about understanding
the mindset of a patient within a larger context of culture, gender, sexual orientation,
religious beliefs, and socioeconomic realities. Diversity is important in any field, and the
nursing industry is an exceptional example of why. The patient demographic is as diverse as
this country’s population. An ethnically and culturally diverse applicant pool leads to more
diverse and culturally sensitive healthcare providers and happier, healthier patients. What’s
more, study after study has shown that diverse groups are better problem solvers and are
more prepared, which is very important in healthcare.

Our nation is made up of people of varied national origins, ages, religious affiliations,
languages, genders, sexual orientations, disabilities, socioeconomic and occupational
statuses, and geographical locations, among many other traits. Education is not a one-size-fits
all solution, but a diversified nursing student body gets the ball rolling on a more inclusive
and re workplace and overall healthcare industry.When a homogenous workforce is tasked
with caring for an extremely diverse array of patients, the quality of care can suffer.

Health disparities affect segments of the population differently. Attitudes toward health care
and treatment can vary among different populations. Medical professionals need to provide
custom care that acknowledges and recognizes these differences. The medical field needs to
diversify in order to serve its diverse patient population.

Diversity in any workplace means having a workforce comprised of multiple races, ages,
genders, ethnicities, and orientations. In other words, it refers to when the medical and
administrative staff of a healthcare facility represents a wide range of experiences and
background.

In modern society, healthcare diversity can refer to a number of qualities, including but not
limited to the following characteristics:

 Race
 Ethnicity
 Gender
 Age
 Sexual orientation
 Religion
 Political beliefs
  Education
 Physical abilities and disabilities
 Socioeconomic background
 Language
 Culture

Espousing diversity in healthcare can lead to cultural competency, the ability of healthcare

providers to offer services that meet the unique social, cultural, and linguistic needs of their
patients. In short, the better a patient is represented and understood, the better they can be
treated.

UNDERSTANDING SYSTEMATIC DIVERSITY ISSUES

In the healthcare sector, race, ethnicity and religion have become an increasingly important factor in
terms of patient care due to an increasingly diverse population. Health agencies at a national and
local level produce a number of guides to raise awareness of cultural issues among healthcare
professionals and hospitals may implement additional non-medical services, such as the provision of
specific types of food and dress to patients or the hiring of chaplains, to accommodate the needs of
patients with religious requirements. However, in an attempt to address the spiritual, cultural and
religious needs of patients healthcare providers often assume that ethnic minority groups are
homogenous blocks of people with similar needs and fail to recognize that a diverse range of views
and practices exist within specific groups themselves. Although, the majority of patients classifying
themselves as Sikhs have a shared language and history, they can also be divided on a number of
lines such as caste affiliation, degree of assimilation in the west, educational level and whether
baptized or not, all of which influence their beliefs and practices and hence impact on their needs
from a health provider. Given that it is unfeasible for health providers to have knowledge of the
multitude of views within specific religious and ethnic communities and accounting for the tight
fiscal constraints of healthcare budgets, this paper concludes by raising the question whether
healthcare providers should step away from catering for religious and cultural needs that do not
directly affect treatment outcomes, and instead put the onus on individual communities to provide
resources to meet spiritual, cultural and religious needs of patients.
With dramatically shifting patient demographics and changing patient composition in, we are
failing to observe corresponding shifts with physicians and healthcare executives. In the year
2000, census figures reported that the United States comprised of about 20% minorities.
Today, minorities represent about 40% of the American population. The population is
changing to more Latinos, more women, and more elderly, while many healthcare
organizations are primarily run by white men and women. Ultimately, these statistics
highlight the need for more diversity in healthcare.

Studies indicate that patients often prefer to be treated by physicians that share their
demographic traits. Countless studies are proving that we prefer being around people that are
similar to us. We are more likely to share vital information with those we perceive to be
trustworthy – it’s a natural response to trust someone that has more in common with you.

Ultimately, health care is about making the patient feel comfortable, and there is a calming
effect when a healthcare practitioner walks through your door that possesses characteristics
that are similar to you.

Diversity and inclusion is all about reflecting and understanding the community that we
serve. The more we can reflect those who we are serving, the better we will be able to serve
them. About 6% of American physicians identify as African-American, while the African-
American population represents about 13% of the US population. It’s clear we need to start
emphasizing diversity in healthcare more.  

TO FACILITATE DIVERSITY IN HEALTHCARE

Working in healthcare requires traversing a lengthy, challenging path. We must ask

ourselves, “Are the preparatory systems set up to serve people of all types of backgrounds?”.
Ultimately, there’s unlimited access to sickness, but limited access to the skills and training it
takes to develop professional capabilities and positions in the healthcare industry.  

By bridging the gap, we are developing a healthcare community that more closely reflects its
patients. Ultimately, we will position ourselves to see greater levels of patient care by
nurturing a greater understanding. Diversity in healthcare is not simply the act of meeting
employment quotas – it’s a path to eliminating human suffering.
Doug Harris, CEO of The Kaleidoscope Group, references a period where he was working
with a well-known university’s med school. During conversations with the school’s
administration, Harris discovers that their statistics suggest that you start applying for med
school in the 2nd grade. Ultimately, if you’re not in your school’s science fair in the second
grade, you’re more than likely not on a path that leads into med school. Furthermore, 96% of
people color in med school are the children of physicians. What this means is that making it
to med school requires grooming from a very young age.

GREATER OUTCOMES WITH DIVERSITY IN HEALTHCARE

We should be taking on and refining societal challenges including the costs, preparation, and
resources for developing healthcare professionals. Our current system is dynamic and perhaps
transient for some groups. We need to play our part by encouraging minority groups to start
focusing on healthcare and STEM fields including science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics. Furthermore, we need to facilitate access to these fields by providing the
resources to education and mentoring.  

DIVERSE AND CULTURALLY SENSITIVE HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS

Improving the cultural environment of health care is a national imperative. Prompted in part by the
growing cultural and ethnic diversity in the United States, a growing contingent of physicians,
researchers, and policy makers have called for improved cultural awareness among health care
providers. Problem recognition and enthusiasm, however, are not enough to ensure effective
change. In fact, training and policy proposals are sure to fail without empirical research to define and
evaluate the effects of incorporating cultural sensitivity training in health care delivery on the
processes and outcomes of care. The recent attention to cultural sensitivity in health care has also
been prompted by the well documented health status disparities between racial and ethnic minority
and majority groups. African Americans, Latino Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans
experience higher proportions of mortality and morbidity than do white Americans in at least six
areas: cancer; chemical dependency; diabetes; heart disease; infant mortality; and homicide, suicide,
or unintentional death. In particular, African Americans as a group have lower levels of well-being on
virtually every measure of health, illness, and death. In addition, research has demonstrated that
African Americans often receive the poorest care in the country for congestive heart failure, acute
myocardial infarction, pneumonia, and cerebrovascular disease. Although some evidence suggests
that genetic and physiologic differences among people from different cultural backgrounds may
influence illness and disease (such as higher rates of sickle cell anemia among African Americans),
ethnic group health disparities are more likely caused by environmental and sociopolitical factors
such as institutional discrimination. Other researchers emphasize the influence of ineffective,
inappropriate, and culturally insensitive health care systems and providers on health disparities. It
has also been argued that physician attitudes and behaviors toward ethnic minorities account for
some health care disparities.

An individual may be able to identify differences between him or herself and people who are
not part of the same culture, and an observant practitioner may likewise identify differences
between his or her own culture and that of a patient's. Cultural awareness goes beyond simply
recognizing differences and includes "recognizing and understanding the cultural
implications of behavior."7 A culturally aware practitioner respectfully considers the impact
of his or her behavior and approaches on a patient from a different culture. Cultural
sensitivity goes even further than awareness, and involves "the integration of cultural
knowledge and awareness into individual and institutional behavior."7 This sensitivity affects
how a clinician interacts with each patient, and impacts communication choices, specific
behaviors during treatment, and recommendations and options offered to patients. A
practitioner who identifies cultural differences, understands how those differences can affect
health habits and healthcare practices, and then integrates that understanding into his or her
own day-to-day interactions with patients can be described as culturally sensitive.

Providing healthcare in a culturally sensitive manner involves responsiveness to "the

attitudes, feelings, and circumstances of people that share common identifying characteristics
(e.g., race, religion, language, and socioeconomic status)."12 Cultural competence requires
deeper integration of this sensitivity into practices and protocols to ensure that the care
provided will "accommodate cultural differences in health-related values and beliefs."12 It is
"the routine application of culturally appropriate healthcare interventions and practices."7 To
provide this type of care, practitioners must be aware of their own cultures, accept different
cultural norms, and adapt their skills accordingly.

An individual may be able to identify differences between him or herself and people who are
not part of the same culture, and an observant practitioner may likewise identify differences
between his or her own culture and that of a patient's. Cultural awareness goes beyond simply
recognizing differences and includes "recognizing and understanding the cultural
implications of behavior."7 A culturally aware practitioner respectfully considers the impact
of his or her behavior and approaches on a patient from a different culture. Cultural
sensitivity goes even further than awareness, and involves "the integration of cultural
knowledge and awareness into individual and institutional behavior."7 This sensitivity affects
how a clinician interacts with each patient, and impacts communication choices, specific
behaviors during treatment, and recommendations and options offered to patients. A
practitioner who identifies cultural differences, understands how those differences can affect
health habits and healthcare practices, and then integrates that understanding into his or her
own day-to-day interactions with patients can be described as culturally sensitive.

Providing healthcare in a culturally sensitive manner involves responsiveness to "the

attitudes, feelings, and circumstances of people that share common identifying characteristics
(e.g., race, religion, language, and socioeconomic status)."12 Cultural competence requires
deeper integration of this sensitivity into practices and protocols to ensure that the care
provided will "accommodate cultural differences in health-related values and beliefs."12 It is
"the routine application of culturally appropriate healthcare interventions and practices."7 To
provide this type of care, practitioners must be aware of their own cultures, accept different
cultural norms, and adapt their skills accordingly.

THE NEED FOR DIVERSITY IN THE HEALTHCARE WORKFORCE

Putting aside issues of equity and fairness for the moment, at least four practical reasons can be put
forth for attaining greater diversity in the health care workforce: advancing cultural competency,
increasing access to high quality health care services, strengthening the medical research agenda,
and ensuring optimal management of the health care system. Although the focus of this paper is on
the M.D. workforce, there is every reason to suspect that these arguments apply equally well to the
other health professions (osteopathy, dentistry, public health, nursing, pharmacy), which have also
experienced difficulty in recruiting persons from minority backgrounds in adequate numbers to
achieve optimal diversity. The recruitment of these persons into the educational pipeline of the
health professions is, of course, what determines not only their ultimate representation in the
workforce but also their influence on the educational process itself. Culturally competent workforce.
This brings us to the first and perhaps most compelling reason for increasing the proportion of
medical students and other prospective health care professionals who are drawn from
underrepresented minority groups: preparing a culturally competent health care workforce. The
term cultural competence denotes the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behavior required of a
practitioner to provide optimal health care services to persons from a wide range of cultural and
ethnic backgrounds. Given the rapidly changing U.S. demography, it is axiomatic that the majority of
future health care professionals will be called upon to care for many patients with backgrounds far
different from their own. To do so effectively, health care providers must have a firm understanding
of how and why different belief systems, cultural biases, ethnic origins, family structures, and a host
of other culturally determined factors influence the manner in which people experience illness,
adhere to medical advice, and respond to treatment. Such differences are real and translate into real
differences in the outcomes of care. Physicians and other health care professionals who are
unmindful of the potential impact of language barriers, various religious taboos, unconventional
explanatory models of disease, or traditional “alternative” remedies are not only unlikely to satisfy
their patients but, more importantly, are also unlikely to provide their patients with optimally
effective care. Health care professionals cannot become culturally competent solely by reading
textbooks and listening to lectures. They must be educated in environments that are emblematic of
the diverse society they will be called upon to serve. The logic here is analogous to that upholding
the value of diversity in all aspects of higher education. Consider the views of Lee Bollinger,
president of Columbia University. He asserts that racial and ethnic diversity in the educational
setting is paramount to a student’s ability to effectively live and work in a diverse society. Aseries of
empirical analyses of existing data on diversity in higher education support Bollinger’s
assertion.5Presented in an expert report used in the lawsuits challenging the University of
Michigan’s undergraduate and law school admissions policies, these analyses “confirm that racial
diversity and student involvement in activities related to diversity had a direct and strong effect on
learning and the way students conduct themselves in later life, including disrupting prevailing
patterns of racial separation.

People of color often face challenges in accessing equitable healthcare. Disparities in

healthcare pose very real moral and ethical social justice dilemmas for society, and prevent
efforts to improve the nation's health and manage escalating healthcare costs. A diverse
healthcare workforce is necessary as a means to help care for an increasingly diverse patient
population. Increasing the racial and ethnic diversity of the health care workforce is essential
for the adequate provision of culturally competent care to our nation’s burgeoning minority
communities. A diverse health care workforce will help to expand health care access for the
underserved, foster research in neglected areas of societal need, and enrich the pool of
managers and policymakers to meet the needs of a diverse populace. The long-term solution
to achieving adequate diversity in the health professions depends upon fundamental reforms
of our country’s precollege education system. Until these reforms occur, affirmative action
tools in health professions schools are critical to achieving a diverse health care workforce.

GENDER BALANCE (https://www.wgea.gov.au/topics/about-workplace-gender-equality )

Men and women are not the same when it concerns their health; risks, symptoms, (presentation of)
complaints and experience of a disease may vary. That sex and gender matter in healthcare has
been demonstrated in a vast amount of studies . If sex and gender differences are not systematically
taken into account by health professionals inequities may arise. Some recommendations have been
given to enhance gender sensitivity in health care. Gender sensitivity means that health
professionals are competent to perceive existing gender differences and to incorporate these into
their decisions and actions. It is commonly accepted that gender does not exist in a vacuum; gender
is part of a socio-political and cultural context. Healthcare organizations are gendered, which means
that male and female patients are treated differently and that male and female physicians behave
differently. Intersectionality goes beyond gender sensitivity and includes the consideration of other
dimensions of difference, like social class and ethnicity. The interaction between these dimensions
shapes patients’ health needs . Whereas concerns about gender and healthcare have come to the
fore in the scientific arena, gender sensitivity will not automatically be adopted in health care.
Implementation literature suggests that innovations within health care generally require
comprehensive approaches at different levels. Ideally implementation on an individual professional
level parallels implementation at organizational level. For example, a gender-training program can
raise the awareness and knowledge of professionals, but organizational learning is required to
change working routines. Despite the body of literature on gender dimensions and disparities
between the sexes in health, practical improvements will not be realized effectively as long as we
lack an overview of the ways how to implement these ideas. Insight in the obstacles and facilitating
factors to enhance gender sensitivity in practice is needed.

Workplace gender equality is achieved when people are able to access and enjoy the same
rewards, resources and opportunities regardless of gender. 

Australia, along with many countries worldwide, has made significant progress towards
gender equality in recent decades, particularly in education, health and female workforce
participation. 
However, the gender gap in the Australian workforce is still prevalent. Women continue to
earn less than men, are less likely to advance their careers as far as men, and accumulate less
retirement or superannuation savings.

The aim of gender equality in the workplace is to achieve broadly equal opportunities

and outcomes for women and men.

The aim of gender equality in the workplace is to achieve broadly equal outcomes for women
and men, not necessarily outcomes that are exactly the same for all. To achieve this requires:

Workplaces to provide equal pay for work of equal or comparable value

Removal of barriers to the full and equal participation of women in the workforce 

Access to all occupations and industries, including leadership roles, regardless of gender; and

Elimination of discrimination on the basis of gender, particularly in relation to family and

caring responsibilities. 

RACIAL DIVERSITY AND CULTURAL COMPETENCE

(https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-
guides/psychology/psychology/psychology-diversity-issues/culture-and-race)

Racial and ethnic disparities in health care access and quality have been extensively documented. In
2002, the Institute of Medicine report Unequal Treatment confirmed that racial and ethnic
disparities in health care are not entirely explained by differences in access, clinical appropriateness,
or patient preferences. The report suggested that disparities in health care exist in the broader
historical and contemporary context of social and economic inequality, prejudice, and systematic
bias. Because most studies of disparity have focused on technical aspects of care, such as the receipt
of certain tests, therapies, and procedures, less is known about interpersonal aspects of care that
may contribute to observed disparities in health care quality. Recent work shows that ethnic
minorities, who are commonly in ethnic-discordant relationships with health professionals, rate the
quality of interpersonal care by physicians and within the health care system in general more
negatively than whites. Researchers have also provided evidence that bias and stereotyping exists
among health care providers. Moreover researchers assert that the cultural orientation of the
medical care system is less congruent with the cultural perspectives of some patient groups than
others. Given the important role that interpersonal processes, including manifestations of bias and
cultural competence, may play in the provision of health care to racial and ethnic minorities,
measures of these phenomena might be important indicators of individual physician and health care
system cultural competence. No single definition of cultural competence is universally accepted.
However, several definitions currently in use share the requirement that health care professionals
adjust and recognize their own culture in order to understand the culture of the patient. Cultural
and linguistic competence can be conceptualized in terms of organizational, structural, and clinical
(interpersonal) barriers to care. The Office of Minority Health defines cultural competence as the
ability of health care providers and health care organizations to understand and respond effectively
to the cultural and linguistic needs brought by patients to the health care encounter. At the patient-
provider level, it may be defined as the ability of individuals to establish effective interpersonal and
working relationships that supercede cultural differences. The Liaison Committee on Medical
Education includes the need for medical students to recognize and address personal biases in their
interactions with patients among their objectives for cultural competence training. Medical
educators have defined eight content areas (general cultural concepts, racism and stereotyping,
physician–patient relationships, language, specific cultural content, access issues, socioeconomic
status, and gender roles and sexuality) that are taught within a commonly accepted rubric of cross-
cultural education curricula.

Cultural and racial diversity may lead some individuals and societies to form prejudices about
members of a particular culture or race and to practice discrimination. The term culture refers to
ideas, behaviors, beliefs, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted between
generations. While cultural differences may also include racial differences, much diversity exists
within one culture and within one race.

Race is genetically determined and refers to one's ancestry. Ethnicity, which refers to people's
common traits, background, and allegiances (developed because of culture or religion), is learned
from family, friends, and experiences. Only a small percentage of human genetic variation is due to
racial differences; much more variation occurs between individuals within such groups. Psychologists
are interested in identifying group differences (cultural diversity) as well as individual differences
because that knowledge helps in understanding behavior.

Since all humans can learn and adapt, it is hoped that acceptance and understanding can replace
prejudice and discrimination. To help in achieving this goal, the educational system has introduced
courses on and disseminated information about cultural diversity and has included more faculty
members of the less prevalent (minority) races and cultures. Cultures vary widely in their rules for
acceptable and expected behavior as well as in the ways they guide the development of the
individual. Knowing people from different cultures is one of the most effective ways of combating
the formation of negative stereotypes and the development of prejudice. Courses on the  psychology
of racism examine the major terms and issues in psychology that pertain to race and racism in the
United States and the general principles of racism that are universal.

PROMOTING CULTURAL DIVERSITY

The benefits of cultural diversity in the workplace can be huge – not only do we benefit from
different ways of thinking when trying to solve tricky business issues, but regular interaction
with people from other cultures can open our eyes to exciting traditions that are different
from our own, which can enrich our lives.

However, healthcare workers (doctors, nurses, medical assistants, etc.) can also play an
important role. Here of some of the ways members of a healthcare staff can promote diversity
in the workplace.

1. Create a Welcome Environment

Foster an environment of inclusiveness in every area possible. Make sure that all voices are
heard, and that all coworkers feel safe to share their perspectives.

2. Address Issues of Bias Quickly and Openly

Often the victims of bias or discrimination are reluctant to come forward themselves for fear
of repercussion or other forms of retaliation. Supporting co-workers in these times and
reporting cases quickly and transparently are vital to creating a safe working environment for
everyone.

3. Encourage Diverse Applicants

Do you know someone who would be a wonderful fit in the healthcare community?

Encourage them to pursue their dreams!
4. Diversity for More Than Diversity’s Sake

Always remember, the point of encouraging diversity in your hospital or clinic isn’t to have
a diverse hospital or clinic… it’s to have a better hospital or clinic. As explained above, a
diverse workforce can provide a rich array of experiences and understanding that can only
enhance the patient-care experience and draw more success to your hospital or clinic.

5. Listen

Sometimes the best action you can take to promote diversity and creating an open work
environment is by simply listening. Listening (without interjecting or suggesting fixes) helps
each of us understand new perspectives, opens our minds to unseen needs, and shows co-
workers or patients that their opinion matters.

DIVERSITY OF LEADERS IN HEALTHCARE (INCLUDING CASE STUDIES)

Healthcare leaders should feel empowered to bring their whole selves to their positions. Team
members want to know about their leader's personal life, such as their favorite hobbies.
Sharing this information allows the individual to bring their whole self to their leadership
position and become their own leader rather than mimicking someone who they may have
seen effectively lead in another position.

As principal change agents, healthcare leaders are well positioned to integrate diversity into
their institutions' organizational structure. Thus healthcare leaders must be competent in
handling diversity issues. Diversity refers to any characteristic that helps shape a person's
attitudes, behaviors, perspective, and interpretation of what is "normal." In the healthcare
ministry, diversity encompasses the cultural differences that can be found across functions or
among organizations when they merge or partner. Managers and supervisors will have to be
familiar with the nuances of diversity if they are to be effective. Those managers who are not
adept at incorporating diversity into human resource management may incorrectly evaluate
subordinates' capabilities and provide inappropriate training or supervision. As a result, some
employees may be underutilized. Others may resist needed direction, overlook instructions,
or hide problems such as a language barrier. If executives, marketers, and strategic planners
are to develop relevant healthcare services that take into account the needs of their
constituencies, they will need to determine how different groups understand and access
healthcare. Healthcare leaders who know how to uncover cultural dynamics and challenge
cultural assumptions will go far in enabling their staff and managers to confront personal
attitudes about community residents. Ultimately, quality of service delivery will be improved.

UTILIZING TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE DIVERSITY IN HEALTHCARE

Technology is maturing quickly and more biases are being recognised and eliminated with
every new iteration, leading to rapidly accelerating progress on the diversity and inclusion
agenda.
Technology can be an enabler of greater diversity and inclusion. It provides data-driven
insights and scalable solutions that can challenge our thinking, influence processes and
ultimately change behaviours. But just as technology continues to evolve and support positive
change in the diversity and inclusion agenda, it is vital that the latter continues to evolve - and
that we continue to drive changes in the underlying technology to continually improve those
systems and ensure bias-free outcomes.
With initiatives like equal pay day, companies are working towards closing the gender and
ethnic pay gap. However, just instituting such days is not enough. Active measures to
overcome unconscious bias in hiring will lead to the development of a well-represented
diverse workforce. Here are three ways technology can help do just that.
1. Create job descriptions that appeal to diverse candidates 
Job descriptions are usually an afterthought in recruiting. However, they are an important
factor of an organization’s overall human capital strategy. In addition to setting candidate
expectations, job descriptions are also an essential compliance checkpoint. Today, AI-
powered analytics solutions can help employers identify bias in job descriptions, such as
phrases that tend to be more masculine than feminine and recommend alternate phrases,
words or sentences that help recruiters write more inclusive job descriptions. This can help
reach out to the largely untapped diverse candidate pool out there.

2. Reduce unconscious bias

AI-powered recruiting solutions can be trained to perform objective assessments of skills,
competencies, and talents, while ignoring demographic factors like gender, race, and age.
Take, for example, bowmo – an HR-based software as a service platform (SaaS) – that helps
eliminate the bias in database and resume searches. A pure skill-set-matching algorithm
based on the Boyer-Moore string search algorithm makes this possible. The software is so
designed that it does not use name, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or disability as
screening parameters. It purely assesses the correct fit basis role, years of experience,
technical skill/s, and sometimes education. 
3. Highlight disparity in compensation
Embracing workforce analytics to address the diversity issue can help significantly. An
analytics platform can comb through data from multiple sources and provide insights on the
recruitment, compensation and benefits patterns of the organization, revealing pay gaps
across the diverse workforce. A data-driven approach like this attaches real numbers to the
diversity issue and can help CHROs create a strong business case to tackle the diversity and
inclusion issue on priority.

DIVERSITY IN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

Diversity has a direct impact on student performance. Students in diverse schools

have higher average test scores. ... Thoughtfully planned diversity lessons promote depth of
knowledge and give students and teachers exposure to new cultures, different historical
figures, and alternative text

Promoting diversity in schools is more than just encouraging students of different

backgrounds to attend certain schools. It requires administrators to think critically about the
ways diversity impacts education. A school administration degree readies graduates for
promoting and teaching diversity as a means of accepting it. Educators and administrative
leaders can help students better understand that while everyone is different, in the most
fundamental ways, everyone is the same and should be treated with respect. This will go far
in helping students accept diversity and promote it in their daily lives.

Learning skills to build communities promoting diversity and employing human

resource functions, such as recruitment and orientation, are essential for educators that have a
desire to lead one day. Those looking to further their career as school administrators must
have a thorough understanding of how to implement diversity within education. Mentors can
help new school administrators develop a plan to foster a healthy environment for diversity in
their schools.

Much classic and contemporary theory suggests that exposure to diversity plays a key
role in student learning and development during the college years. Scholars contend that
students' cognitive and social development are intertwined, and as students approach college
age they are more likely to apply cognitive abilities and skills to interpersonal situations and
social problem-solving. Both cognitive and social development are also thought to occur
through social interaction, spurred by the disequilibrium that results when one tries to
reconcile one's own embedded views with those of others. College students who report
interactions with diverse peers (in terms of race, interests, and values) have shown a greater
openness to diverse perspectives and a willingness to challenge their own beliefs after the
first year of college. Overall, cognitively complex thinkers rather than dualistic thinkers
should be able to develop in-depth and societal perspectives about situations and social
problems. These theories and research support the notion that encountering others who have
diverse backgrounds and perspectives can lead to interactions that promote learning and
development. Yet, although diversity is linked with student development in theory, educators
must create certain conditions to maximize the potential for learning. Several researchers
have supported the notion that learning occurs best when the educational environments
support interaction under conditions of equal status. In other words, placing students of
diverse backgrounds in a classroom is a necessary but insufficient condition for learning.
Merely encountering differences can promote feelings of superiority or inferiority among
students rather than growth and development. Particular pedagogical techniques promote the
type of interaction necessary to create equal status conditions and, thus, learning in diverse
environments. For instance, Robert Slavin and other researchers have consistently shown that
students engaged in racially/ethnically diverse cooperative learning groups report cross-racial
friendships outside these groups. Overall, cooperative learning has demonstrated value in
enhancing the academic achievement of students from all racial/ ethnic groups and in
reducing prejudice as students improve their interaction skills with students from different
backgrounds. Elizabeth Cohen further reveals that without attention to the structure of peer
groups in diverse classrooms and to learning activities that promote interaction on an equal
status basis, peer status can actually reproduce inequality and undermine the potential
learning that can occur among diverse peers. Furthermore, students exposed to complex
instructional activity that takes diversity into account have demonstrated gains in factual
knowledge and higher-order thinking skills. In sum, active learning pedagogies increase
interaction in the classroom because students "learn more than when they are passive
recipients of instruction". Both research and theory support the notion that students learn a
great deal from diverse peers when interaction is facilitated in supportive environments.

IMPACT OF EXCLUSION IN RESEARCH ON ACCESS TO TREATMENT