There is a dire need for the health tech workforce to keep pace with the changing racial makeup of the nation. According to the Pew Research Center study, from 1960 to 2010, the percentages of Americans identifying themselves as Black, Hispanic, Asian, or “other” increased from just 15 percent of the population to 36 percent of the population:
Black: Increased from 10 to 12 percent
Hispanic: Increased from 4 to 15 percent
Asian: increased from 1 to 5 percent
“Other”: Increased from 0 to 3 percent
We live in a country whose racial makeup grows to be more diverse every day, however, the nation’s tech workforce does not reflect the diversity of the nation in the least bit. To dig deeper, the nation’s health tech workforce is no better in terms of its diversity and inclusion of minorities. While other tech companies may be able to get by with a certain racial makeup, it’s extremely necessary for the health tech industry to not follow this pattern mainly because of the diverse customers that these tech products are being made for: patients.
Health 2.0 rolled out the first Diversity in Health Tech Mentorship program, TECHquality, earlier this year. Right now, there is an open applications for Mentors and Mentees for the second round of the mentorship program. Mentees must self-identify as part of an underrepresented group of health tech. This can range from people of color, women, seniors, people with disabilities, LGBTQ, etc. Mentors are individuals who have expertise in health tech and are dedicated to increasing diversity and supporting inclusion in tech.
We believe that increasing the number of role models for minorities and creating opportunities for mentorship and job growth will help to alleviate the disparities that we see in the health tech industry today.
We don’t want this to be just another diversity initiative that calls the lack of diversity and inclusion of minorities to light and fades away. What we really want is action. We hope for this initiative to push the needle forward and impact the health tech industry as it continues to grow and impact an array of patient lives. Diversity is reflected in the millions of patient lives we hope to change through health tech, so why don’t our workplaces?
There are a few ways to get involved check them all out here.