DiverseCity Counts 8: Diverse Leadership in the Health Care Sector (2013)

Diverse Leadership in the Health Care Sector examines diversity on boards and in senior management of health care institutions in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Specifically, we look at local health integration networks (LHINs), hospitals, and community care access centres (CCACs). While past DiverseCity Counts reports have focused on visible minorities, this edition broadens the scope of diversity to include sex/gender identity, visible minorities, disability, and sexual orientation.

Diverse Leadership in the Health Care Sector is the eighth report in our DiverseCity Counts series. This research was conducted by Dr. Samir Sinha of Mount Sinai Hospital and the University Health Network Hospitals.

See the full report, A Snapshot of Diverse Leadership in the Health Care Sector, or download the summary of the research.

The research found:

• Women are well represented in leadership positions – Women make up the majority (61%) of senior management positions, and 40% of governance board members. No gender alternates (transgender, transsexual, intersex) were reported in senior management teams or on boards of any of the institutions surveyed.
• Visible minorities are under-represented, but this varies widely between institutions – Only 16% of those in senior management positions and 14% of board members were reported to be visible minorities. Four in ten institutions reported no visible minorities in senior management positions, as did nearly one-fifth of boards.
• Few people with a disability are in leadership positions – Across the health care sector, in senior management and on boards, only 1% of leaders were reported to be people living with a disability.
• Few lesbian, gay, bisexual or queer (LGBQ) individuals are in leadership positions, with a few exceptions – About 3-4% of leaders were reported to be LGBQ individuals, though this includes a few institutions that reported many individuals, and a majority of institutions that reported none.

The report includes practical recommendations for health care institutions that want to diversify their leadership.

Publications:

• A Snapshot of Diverse Leadership in the Health Care Sector by Dr. Samir Sinha, Mount Sinai Hospital and the University Health Network Hospitals, Selma Chaudhry, Mount Sinai Hospital and Bonnie Mah, Maytree (November 2013).
• In Brief: A Snapshot of Diverse Leadership in the Health Care Sector, summary report (November 2013).
• Why Diversity Matters in the Health Care Sector: HC Link webinar, Samir Sinha, Ratna Omidvar and Cathy Hecimovich discuss the report findings, why diverse leadership is important, and what institutions can do to diversify their leadership teams.

See the DiverseCity website for more.

Contact: Catherine Winter, DiverseCity OnBoard, Global Diversity Exchange, catherine.winter[at]Ryerson.ca