By Geralyn Magan
A new literature review from the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston provides an overview of what researchers have learned about creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.
What is systemic racism and what can aging services providers do to address it within their organizations? Answers to these and other questions are included in a new literature review released by the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston.
According to Creating a Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Workplace Culture: A Review of the Literature, systemic racism refers to those aspects of our society’s culture, policy, and institutions that create and maintain racial inequality in every facet of life for people of color. This racism fosters the inequalities and disparities in wealth, education, employment, housing, and health care that people of color experience daily. It often relegates people of color to job sectors that pay low wages and contribute to severe economic insecurity.
“The LTSS field is a microcosm of the systemic racism that exists throughout our nation,” write LTSS Center researchers Alexandra Hennessa and Natasha Bryant, citing a 2021 study from PHI. “While people of color make up one-quarter of the total U.S. workforce, they comprise the majority (59%) of direct care professionals across LTSS settings. By contrast, managers and leaders of LTSS organizations are mostly white.”
By 2030, management positions in skilled nursing settings are expected to increase by 19%, and management positions in life plan communities and assisted living communities will rise by 48% according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Meanwhile, the general population in the U.S., including the aging population, will become more racially and ethnically diverse, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“LTSS providers have an opportunity to get a head start on addressing this demographic shift by investing early in diversity, equity, and inclusion activities that will help increase diversity in their organizations’ mid-level and senior leadership positions and boards of directors,” write Hennessa and Bryant.
The new publication draws on the current DEI literature to provide an overview of DEI, outline why DEI is important, and explore the steps involved in implementing DEI initiatives and creating an inclusive organizational culture.
WHY DEI IS IMPORTANT
Recent studies published by McKinsey & Company and Citi Global Perspectives & Solutions have shown that paying attention to diversity, equity, and inclusion can have financial benefits for organizations. For example, the McKinsey research and research published in the Journal of the National Medical Association suggest that racially and ethnically diverse leadership or boards are linked to improved performance and innovation. However, most research suggests that diversity alone is not enough to make a positive difference in business outcomes, report Hennessa and Bryant.
“This is where inclusion comes in,” they write.
An inclusive culture is the key to increasing performance and creating better business outcomes in organizations, according to research published in the Deloitte Review and in The Practice of Inclusion in Diverse Organizations. At the organizational level, diversity and inclusion in the workplace can lead to increased revenue, reduced costs, greater innovation, improved employee engagement, productivity, and commitment, according to Catalyst.
STEPS IN CREATING A DEI ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
The literature review offers research-supported suggestions for creating a DEI organization culture. It reviews the characteristics of that inclusive culture and addresses the importance of:
- Conducting an assessment to determine the organization’s stage of DEI development and its DEI needs.
- Incorporating DEI into the organization’s strategic plan.
- Building an inclusive leadership team that is committed to DEI.
- Adopting inclusive policies, procedures, and practices.
- Raising awareness of bias among individual employees and helping those employees change their biased behavior.
“When implemented thoughtfully and intentionally, efforts to increase diversity and inclusion in the workplace can have positive outcomes for employees and the organization as a whole,” the report concludes. “There is not a one-size-fits-all approach to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization. Leaders, as well as staff at all levels of the organization, must be fully committed to DEI values for the long-term and willing to adopt DEI practices as a priority.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION
To read other reports in the LTSS Center’s DEI series, visit the LTSS Center website.