The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that by 2045, non-Hispanic/Latino white people will no longer be a majority in United States. This prediction alone suggests that healthcare organizations wishing to attract talented executives will need to establish themselves as desirable places for diverse leaders to work.
Making workplaces more diverse, equitable and inclusive is something that healthcare organizations have been working on for decades. Results from a 2022 survey conducted by the American College of Healthcare Executives suggest not only that improvements are still needed, but that disagreement exists about the magnitude of the issue and how well organizations have succeeded to date.
The 2022 survey was the sixth in a series of studies led by ACHE every five to six years comparing career attainments of healthcare executives by race/ethnicity. Questionnaires were sent to comparative samples of Asian, Black, Hispanic/Latino and white healthcare executives. Of the 9,416 ACHE members who were successfully sent the survey, 2,527 responded, yielding a 26.8% response rate. These responses were supplemented by a small number of responses from an earlier questionnaire pretest and a sample of executives provided by the National Association of Health Services Executives.
Survey respondents were asked the extent to which they agreed with a series of statements about the state of their employing organizations regarding diversity, equity and inclusion. The results are shown in the table below. As can be seen in the table, the responses differed significantly between members of the different racial/ethnic groups. In each case, white respondents were the most likely to view organizational DEI efforts favorably, while Black respondents were the least likely to do so.
|
Percentages (Number responding) |
||||
| Agreed with the statement: | Asian | Black | Hispanic/Latino | White |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race relations within my organization are good | 65% | 44% | 60% | 79% |
| (N) | (237) | (460) | (222) | (1,054) |
| My organization does a good job of ensuring racial/ethnic diversity of their workforce | 59% | 38% | 57% | 66% |
| (N) | (235) | (458) | (220) | (1,043) |
| My organization does a good job of creating an inclusive workplace for all members of their workforce | 71% | 46% | 63% | 81% |
| (N) | (237) | (461) | (222) | (1,060) |
| Minority managers usually have to be more qualified than others to get ahead in my organization | 38% | 63% | 34% | 9% |
| (N) | (232) | (451) | (221) | (1,015) |
| A greater effort should be made in my organization to increase the percentage of racial/ethnic minorities in senior healthcare management positions | 68% | 77% | 56% | 43% |
| (N) | (228) | (449) | (216) | (1,039) |
ACHE wishes to thank the executives who responded to this survey for their time, consideration, and service to their profession and to healthcare leadership research. ACHE also wishes to thank the National Association of Health Services Executives, the National Association of Latino Healthcare Executives, the Institute for Diversity and Health Equity and ACHE’s Asian Healthcare Leaders Community Committee for their support of this study.