Humans are aspirational by nature.
We dream big and invest tools that help us dream bigger. But we forget—sometimes willfully—that many of us are being left behind—because of racial, cultural or gender biases; poor access to connected technologies; or social stigmas associated with loneliness and sexual assault.
But if working in healthcare over the past 10 years have demonstrated anything, it’s that we are ready and willing to do something about the problems that keep all of us from looking to brighter futures.
It’s why I am proud to introduce a special session at the 11th Annual Health 2.0 Fall Technology Conference—The Unacceptables. Healthcare has too many innovators, too many dreamers, to empathizers to tolerate forgotten populations.
Leveling the Playing Field
As our society grows increasingly diverse and gaps in health among different populations increase, there is an urgency to develop solutions for underserved communities and diversify the population of innovators who are creating these solutions.
Diversity in Healthcare. As part of its mission to improve health for all, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has placed special emphasis on creating diversity in healthcare leadership. Last year, RWJF launched four new leadership development programs to engage people working across a variety of sectors to build a Culture of Health. Hear Michael Painter, Senior Program Officer, discuss how RWJF engages professionals, community advocates and organizers, doctoral scholars, clinicians, and researchers across multiple fields, represented by participants with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and specialties.
Women in Health IT. The numbers are startling. Women make up 80% of the workforce, but only 4% of CEOs. Women in health IT earn 20% less than their male counterparts, according to HIMSS. Progress has been made, but more could be done (hello, booth ‘girls’, for a start) to address gender roles in our industry. Lisa Suennen, Senior Managing Director Healthcare Investing, GE Ventures, lead Venture Valkyrie LLC, a publishing, and business advisory firm and is a founder of CSweetener, a not-for-profit company focused on matching women in and nearing the healthcare C-Suite with mentors who have been there and wish to give back, and which she writes about here.
Read my full article here
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