Is Pursuing Diversity Worth the Effort?

In a recent discussion board for a group of graduate nursing students, Social Determinants of Health was explored in some detail. The majority of comments and discussion addressed racial inequities and great examples were offered, argued, and appreciated. 

It became apparent that arguing to appreciate diversity was a good idea, but alone this approach is useless. Impacting systems, operations, and impacting measurable outcomes (that have a monetary component) should be the goal. Building affinity groups has its place as people with similar interests should have the ability to collaborate, commiserate, and collaborate. But is that enough? 

Here’s an example of what may be considered a failed effort at pursuing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in a large university with an influential college of nursing. A Diversity team was developed with representatives from doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate faculty. Racial, ethnic, and sexual diversity issues were identified. The list of members and their respective background is impressive. 

Exploring the website to see actions taken, or how this collective impacted a change showed no documentation or suggestion that this group was more than a list of smart people. When this group was approached individually and collectively to share their experiences no response was received. This group was approached 4 times by email, voice mail, and old-fashioned fax messages. No response from anyone in this group which begs the question, what is their value?

These thoughts beg the question: Is building concepts of diversity worth the effort? Is a committee or department enough if they are not publicizing or realizing change? Is a DEIB effort enough to appreciate a substantive change in culture?

One thing to consider is that the plight and efforts at equality for people of African descent has been an ongoing effort for at least 300 years. Another thing to consider is that racism is integrated and intrinsic in our cultural and social constructs. So by encouraging diversity we (collectively) are not impacting behavior. 

Impacts in action – at least here in the United States – is not realized unless there are legal and/or financial implications. What are we doing to impact the legal concerns? I don’t know the full scope of actions to answer that question but know there are many legal mandates and precedents to build on. What are we doing on the financial front? 

This is where we as doctoral prepared nurses can etch away at this mountain of concern.  We invite colleagues to share thoughts, concerns, and actionable ideas for all to see. In particular we invite people from these groups: 

Please share your thoughts and insights on this blog. All comments are welcomed to help support our collective goals of effectively embracing diversity to improve healthcare outcomes.