Forbes Ranks ChristianaCare as a Best Employer for Diversity and Inclusion in U.S. for 2nd Year

For the second consecutive year, Forbes magazine has ranked ChristianaCare as one of the best employers for diversity and inclusion in the United States in its list of Best Employers for Diversity 2022.

ChristianaCare ranked as the No. 2 employer for diversity and inclusion in the health care industry and the No. 40 employer in the nation overall.

ChristianaCare has developed LeadershipDNA, a program for underrepresented, diverse caregivers early in their leadership journey to foster career development. The first cohort is pictured above.

“Through purposeful actions, we commit to valuing diversity and fostering an environment for inclusion as we support all caregivers and serve all our neighbors with love and excellence, in our actions and in our words,” said Neil Jasani, M.D., MBA, FACEP, chief people officer at ChristianaCare.

“We know when we support our caregivers and they can be their authentic selves, they will be exceptional today and even better tomorrow.”

On Friday, June 5, 2020 hundreds of ChristianaCare caregivers joined in a peaceful demonstration against racism as part of a regional observance with White Coats For Black Lives.

ChristianaCare, Delaware’s largest private employer, has committed to being an anti-racism organization and works to ensure that commitment is reflected through the organization’s policies, programs, and practices.

Neil Jasani, M.D.

All employees of ChristianaCare are referred to as caregivers, whether they provide direct patient care or support that care indirectly.

ChristianaCare’s inclusion efforts include 10 employee resource groups, which connect caregivers who have a common interest or bond with one another.

Formed by employees across all demographics – such as disability, gender, race, military status, national origin, sexual orientation, etc. – these voluntary grassroots groups work to improve inclusion and diversity at ChristianaCare.

More than 1,100 caregivers at ChristianaCare participate in employee resource groups.

The ChristianaCare Salutes! Employee Resource Group participates in community activities for veterans, active duty service members, their families and allies. Last year, the group visited the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery to place flags in honor of Memorial Day.

ChristianaCare also has developed LeadershipDNA, a leadership development program that is specifically targeted to underrepresented, diverse populations early in their leadership journey within the organization and is designed to foster professional and career development.

ChristianaCare President and CEO Janice E. Nevin, M.D., MPH, has signed the CEO Act!on for Diversity & Inclusion Pledge, which outlines a specific set of actions the signatory CEOs will take to cultivate a trusting environment where all ideas are welcomed, and employees feel comfortable and empowered to have discussions about diversity and inclusion. More than 1,600 of ChristianaCare’s caregivers have also signed the pledge.

Keysha Ferguson, B.S., LSSGB, is a practice manager for ChristianaCare Primary Care and co-lead of the GOALS Employee Resource Group. GOALS stands for Growing Our African American Leaders Systemwide.

“This recognition shows that we are making progress in our commitment to invest in our caregivers and to make all who join us feel included,” said Pamela Ridgeway, chief diversity officer and vice president of talent at ChristianaCare.

“Taking care of people is what we do, and our ability to help people achieve optimal health is tied directly to how successful we are at embracing diversity and creating an inclusive environment for our caregivers.”

Pamela Ridgeway, MBA, MA, SPHR

Forbes’ Best Employers for Diversity were identified from an independent survey of more than 60,000 U.S. employees working for companies employing at least 1,000 people in their U.S. operations.

Respondents were asked to rate their organizations on criteria such as age, disability, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation equality, as well as general diversity.

More than 10,000 companies were reviewed and approximately 2,000 were given a diversity score that is derived from employee surveys and publicly available information.

The final list ranks the 500 employers that not only received the most recommendations, but also have the most diverse boards and executive leadership, and the most proactive diversity and inclusion initiatives.

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