How Companies Can Embrace Equity & Inclusion Today & Into The Future with Dr. Félix Manuel Chinea
Read time: 3 min
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Company purpose still has a place in the world of brand. And it can be very powerful if you want it to be. Think about Patagonia and how its follow through on purpose has made it one of the most successful and iconic brands on the planet.
But the biggest problem for companies is that these efforts are often seen as expenses and when times get tough, they get cut. We've all seen how Chief DE&I officers are hired and fired, and the recent tech layoffs involved many people who were doing equity and inclusion work.
So when I talked with Felix, the head of health equity and inclusion of Doximity, a digital health company (think LinkedIn for physicians) I really wanted to understand how he has made it work there and how it's being embedded into the company.
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In this episode, we cover off on a variety of topics:
The definition of DE&I and health equity
Value exchange for long-term impact
The curb cut effect
Culture change is inherent
Consistent actions to bolster the brand
What to look for when hiring for DEI & Health Equity roles
KEY LESSONS
The definition of DE&I and Health equity
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are three values that organizations strive to embody for fair treatment and full participation of all people in the workplace.
Health equity on the other hand applies to health care companies applying the principles of DE&I to the communities they serve.
“In the broadest sense health equity is giving everyone the opportunity to live their healthiest life. There's opportunity to be more specific about it, especially in the space of digital health. What does health equity mean in terms of the sphere of influence that you have as an organization? What is the mission, what are the types of products that you build and how do you make that more equitable?”
Value exchange for long-term impact
One of the most critical challenges for organizations is ensuring that this work doesn't get cut when bad economic times come along. You should not be able to switch values on and off based on external conditions, but that's what you see in some companies.
The reason? It's not a value, it's a program. Worse, it's a fluffy communication tactic. And when media covers all the "failures", we get confusion.
"I had a recent LinkedIn post that asked the question of whether advancing health equity is too fluffy of a term. People losing sense of what does health equity actually mean and what are we actually doing."
When talking Felix, he offers up a unique strategy so the organization doesn't see these efforts as a resource drain, instead, the organization gets value from it. He talks about an example in Doximity where they offer a free service to clinics offering free care and in return, they get very specific feedback about their product.
"A lot of times when we think about a free clinic program, many people will think about this as a charity program. But instead, if you think about this as an exchange of value that really shapes our product in a meaningful way, then it creates a more sustainable process moving forward. "
The curb cut effect
Another challenge we see is the push back in organizations when developing special programs that help one specific group of people. Felix saw some of this at Doximity, but he offers a model that can help address this fear.
He brings up the curb cut effect from the work of Annie Jean Batiste, the head of product inclusion at Google.
"The curb cut effect is this: when we cross the street, the sidewalks have that cut at the curb. And that was actually designed initially for folks in wheelchairs. But then you reflect and you think about who all benefits from that cut in the curb. Folks pushing strollers, folks pushing grocery carts, folks on bikes, folks roller skates or roller blades.. A lot of people benefit from that design even though that design was centered on folks in wheelchairs."
"So the same concept can apply to product design"
So when this is applied to their free telehealth service, the unique perspective and feedback from their free clinic customers allow them to develop features that other users can enjoy and benefit from.
Conclusion
DE&I and healthy equity work is not easy, especially embedding it into the culture of the company. But it is an opportunity to bring energy and vitality into the brand. The opportunity is that most organizations don't do this well, so if your brand can embody these values and make tangible impact, you can truly elevate your brand, not to mention help all those disenfranchised feel a sense of belonging.
There were a ton more lessons and Felix gets pretty deep on the topic: Listen to the whole episode on Apple Podcasts
Learn more about Félix:
Resources
- Michelle Mijung Kim – Book: The Wake Up
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