The power of Diversity & Inclusion in medicine, at our workplaces, and for our lives.

Fostering diversity and ensuring inclusion is the right thing to do. But it’s also the smart thing to do. While the need for diversity is a given, inclusiveness is a choice – often, that's the challenge. The implications of not taking action are broader than one might be aware of.

That’s how I would summarize the insightful conversation I had with Prof. Dr. Ulrike Attenberger, MD, director of the clinic for diagnostic and interventional radiology at the University Hospital Bonn in Germany and a world leader in advocating for Diversity and Inclusion (D&I). 

As our starting point, since there are many definitions around of what D&I means, we decided to calibrate our own understanding of the topic. We both agreed that diversity means recognizing and appreciating what makes people different in terms of age, gender, religion, ethnicity, education, sexual orientation, and other factors. Inclusion means that individual diversity is understood, embraced and that everyone in the team and company feels welcome and treated fairly. Why are both so important?

Diversity: A strategic advantage...

Whether you are part of a multinational corporation or a medical center, drawing on a diverse workforce means you tap the largest and deepest pool of talent and expertise available. Human beings, after all, are incredibly, wonderfully diverse. Through diversity, you gain the perspectives of people from many different backgrounds and experiences, creating a culture where new ideas and innovative approaches can thrive.

...for any company powered by creative ideas and continuous innovations, there’s strong evidence that diversity makes for better decision-making. An interesting research initiative called Project Aristotle, conducted by Google, looked at factors that determine the success of teams. Decisions made and executed by diverse teams, the researchers found, delivered 60% better results. Teams made up of men and women outperformed those made up only of one gender by 50%, on average.

...for better patient outcomes, Dr. Attenberger brought it to the point: “I actually believe that homogeneous healthcare, or a lack of diversity, is dangerous. Research shows that breast cancer is much more likely to be fatal for African American women than for white women. Hispanic and African American patients are more likely to die from diabetes than white patients. Although there are many reasons why, one reason is likely to be the fact that these racial or ethnic groups often don’t see themselves reflected in the physicians who treat them.”

...for healthcare professionals delivering high quality care, as those who are part of diverse teams also benefit by gaining different perspectives from their colleagues. Doctors from more diverse backgrounds working together may gain insights that improve care for all patients. Dr. Attenberger stated that it should not be a surprise that doctors are more effective at treating heart attacks when they work in hospitals where there is a better gender balance among their doctors.

...for medical research & education: Medical textbooks have traditionally been based on studies of only a small part of the population, often white males. But we know that heart attacks unfold in women differently than men. Pharmacokinetics can vary significantly depending on the race, gender, and age of patients. The clinical signs of cancer appear different on dark and light skin. Researchers from diverse backgrounds often become advocates for addressing these shortcomings. By way of just one example that I find particularly compelling: a black medical student, disturbed by the absence of examples of clinical signs on dark skin, wrote his own textbook to cover that gap.

Inclusion: A choice, but also the challenge

To realize the benefits of diversity, we must ensure that everyone is included. In many ways, inclusion is our biggest challenge. One reason is unconscious bias. All of us have ingrained beliefs and stereotypes that guide our assessments and actions – implicit systematic patterns of thought that we are unaware of, but which may make us treat one individual differently than another.

Even subtle biases – giving one person’s ideas more weight than another’s – can have profound implications. The same Project Aristotle I mentioned earlier developed a list of the key dynamics that make teams successful. One is psychological safety. Every member of the team must feel safe and secure in sharing ideas, disagreeing, going out on a limb, even being wrong. A team member who feels excluded, even subtly, will be less likely to contribute fully, and the whole team will suffer.

There are also biases built into the system – inequalities that too many of us take for granted because they are so ingrained. Dr. Attenberger is passionate about encouraging more women to take up leadership roles in radiology and other fields of medicine. One part of our conversation, which I personally find very profound, was when she elaborated on the many reasons why women are underrepresented in radiology. One is a lack of childcare for women who raise kids. Young female physicians may also have a harder time to find mentors. “But what particularly interests me is that women physicians who are married to physicians tend to consider their partner’s career to have paramount priority,” she noted. “Only 5.7% consider their own careers as paramount.” Indeed, in a field where men fill virtually all top leadership positions, many talented women do not find ways to pursue a career path that will allow them to reach those levels.

What can be done

We must approach the task of ensuring D&I from many different directions. It’s important to define goals to create, among others, gender and racial equality – something we at Siemens Healthineers take seriously. We are committed to increasing the share of female senior managers, as stated in our sustainability goals. We are also committed to minimizing unconscious bias. We train our leaders to understand how people feel when they are excluded, for instance, in order to create a greater sense of empathy. The goal is that these managers will become role models of inclusiveness.

In our conversation, Dr. Attenberger also emphasized the importance of role models in promoting gender equality and inclusion. “Compared to ten years ago, there is definitely greater awareness that we need more women in senior positions,” she explained. “But we have to find ways to encourage women to envision themselves in those senior positions and to formulate career paths early on.”

Role models will help. Every woman who, like Dr. Attenberger herself, achieves a leadership role in healthcare inspires younger women just entering the field. The same is valid for any minority group.

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We have a long way to go, of course. Achieving true diversity and inclusion is the work of a lifetime. But I believe that the fact that by having these conversations – learning to recognize our own biases and striving to be more inclusive – while taking action, we will have a positive impact to the benefit of everyone.

I hope you find this podcast with Ulrike just as inspiring as it is for me.