-
What Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Means to Us
For Texas Health:
- Diversity is the representation of unique individuals. Diversity refers to characteristics and traits, both visible and invisible, in which people are different and alike. We seek to engage and understand the demographic composition of the communities we serve.
- Equity is creating a work environment where everyone has equal opportunity to do their life's best work, and no one is disadvantaged because of their unique characteristics and traits.
- Inclusion is creating a work environment where everyone can contribute to business success and where each person's contribution is valued for his or her distinctive skills, experiences and perspectives.
-
Our Approach
We weave respect for our differences in our Values — Respect, Integrity, Compassion and Excellence. Beyond demographics, we seek to understand our workforce's needs and preferences, what attracts employees to Texas Health and what motivates them to do their best work. Staying informed of their opinions, experiences and insights also allow us to better deliver differentiated and consumer-focused care.
We start at recruitment and hire employees who are representative of the communities we serve. This allows us to care for consumers and their families with greater understanding and compassion. We deepen employees' awareness of their roles in providing culturally appropriate care while driving innovation, creativity, engagement, and success during new hire orientation.
-
Commitments and Goals
To reinforce our commitment to equality:
- We have written policies, hiring practices and training programs that emphasize inclusion and prohibit discrimination.
- Our Diversity Action Teams also advance awareness of behaviors associated with inclusivity and culturally competent care.
- We adopted two significant and powerful strategic goals:
- We will develop a workforce and leadership pipeline that is diverse, engaged and reflects the demographic composition of the communities we are privileged to serve.
- We will create a work environment where everyone can participate in contributing to business success — a place where each person's contributions are valued for their distinctive skills, experiences and perspectives; where everyone has a voice and all voices are heard; where everyone can be their authentic selves, feel they belong and reach their full potential; and a place where employee differences are embraced and celebrated.
Driving Equity and Inclusion
The social justice events of 2020 allowed us to take an even closer view of our impact on each other and our communities. We are responsible for making sure that our care team members feel heard and safe for being their authentic selves.
To that end, we began laying the groundwork to drive further diversity, equity and inclusion within Texas Health and in our communities to bring about meaningful and impactful change. These include:
- Delivering culturally welcoming care and services to our patients and consumers.
- Compiling governing bodies that reflect the demographics of the communities we serve to advance our Mission, Vision and Values.
- Supporting the communities we serve by providing business opportunities to diverse suppliers.
- Addressing health disparities through community engagement and advocacy.
- Creating an inclusive work environment where everyone has an opportunity to participate in contributing to business success.