Abstract
Objective:
In response to calls to achieve racial equity, racism has been declared as a public health crisis. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is an approach public health organizations are pursuing to address racial inequities in health. However, public health workforce perceptions about organizational commitment to DEI have not yet been assessed. Using a nationally representative survey of public health practitioners, we examine how perceptions about supervisors' and managers' commitment to DEI and their ability to support a diverse workforce relate to perceptions of organizational culture around DEI.
Methods:
Data from the 2021 Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS) to examine the relationship between public health employees' perceptions about their organization's commitment to DEI and factors related to those perceptions. PH WINS received 44 732 responses (35% response rate). We calculated descriptive statistics and constructed a logistic regression model to assess these relationships.
Results:
Findings show that most public health employees perceive that their organizations are committed to DEI; however, perceptions about commitment to DEI vary by race, ethnicity, gender identity, and organizational setting. Across all settings, White respondents were more likely to agree with the statement, “My organization prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion” (range, 70%-75%), than Black/African American (range, 55%-65%) and Hispanic/Latino respondents (range, 62.5%-72.5%). Perception that supervisors worked well with individuals with diverse backgrounds had an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of 5.37 (P < .001); organizational satisfaction had an AOR of 4.45 (P < .001). Compared with White staff, all other racial and ethnic groups had lower AOR of reporting their organizations prioritized DEI, with Black/African American staff being the lowest (AOR = 0.55), followed by Hispanic/Latino staff (AOR = 0.71) and all other staff (AOR = 0.82).
Conclusions:
These differences suggest that there are opportunities for organizational DEI commitment to marginalized public health staff to further support DEI and racial equity efforts. Building a diverse public health workforce pipeline will not be sufficient to achieve health equity if staff perceive that their organization does not prioritize DEI.
Keywords: diversity, equity, and inclusion, PH WINS, public health workforce, Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey, racial equity
In the wake of increased visibility of the deaths of Black people at the hands of police and the rise of Black Lives Matter protests, many states, localities, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have declared racism to be a public health crisis.1,2 Organizations across the United States have initiated or renewed a commitment to diversity (eg, who is represented), equity (eg, fairness and justice), and inclusion (eg, conditions where all are included, welcomed, and supported) efforts to address racism and promote health equity, including in the public health workforce. Two studies have analyzed the numerous declarations and statements on racism made by public health organizations and entities and found that some have included resolutions regarding actionable steps to address racism in public health.1,2 However, relatively few of these resolutions specifically describe improving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and the role of racism within public health organizations.1
A diverse, equitable, and inclusive public health workforce could better serve marginalized communities and respond to their needs.3 As the racial and ethnic profile of the US population continues to change, the current racial composition of the public health workforce leans toward majority White and does not fully reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the US population.4 However, simply increasing the number of Black, Hispanic/Latino, Indigenous, and Asian people in the public health workforce is likely not enough to effectively and meaningfully promote DEI in public health organizations. Fostering an organizational culture (ie, shared assumptions, rituals, symbols, and values) that centers DEI should be prioritized because organizational culture can influence the attitudes, beliefs, practices, and retention of public health professionals.5 However, perceptions of organizational culture can vary among individuals working within the same organization even if there is some organizational culture promoting DEI. Employee perceptions of organizational commitment to DEI could be one indicator of organizational climate and quality, such as perceptions about fair treatment, which are associated with job satisfaction and retention.6–8
Perceptions of the importance of DEI among the public health workforce and perceptions of how their leadership works with diverse communities may reflect organizational cultures around DEI. This study assesses how members of the public health workforce perceive their organization's commitment to DEI and the drivers of these perceptions. Specifically, we examine how perceptions about supervisors' and managers' commitment to DEI and their ability to support a diverse workforce relate to perceptions of organizational culture around DEI. Because organizational culture may vary across different public health agencies, there may be organizational-level factors that are associated with how public health staff perceive their organization's commitment to DEI. For instance, organizations in large cities may work with more diverse populations and employ more diverse staff than state-level agencies, which may be related to how employees perceive DEI commitment. Therefore, we also examine differences in perceptions of organizational commitment to DEI by race and ethnicity and organizational factors. We characterize the extent to which employee perceptions about their organization's commitment to DEI vary not just by individual factors such as race and ethnicity but also by organizational characteristics. This article focuses on perceptions around agency commitment to DEI. It does so through individual and organizational constructs as captured in the Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS), a nationally representative sample of the state and local governmental public health workforce.
Methods
PH WINS was fielded in collaboration between the de Beaumont Foundation and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. As detailed elsewhere, the 2021 fielding was conducted between September 2021 and early January 2022 to 137 446 staff as a nationally representative sample; 42 858 responded (35% response rate).9 The survey is fielded to staff individually, rather than organizations, and entails several domains, including perceptions about the workplace environment, training needs, public health issues, demographics, and, in 2021, a section on COVID-19 response.
Perceptions around DEI are gauged on a 5-point Likert-like scale around the items “My organization prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion” and the importance of 3 DEI-related activities in their own day-to-day work, depending on their supervisory status (see Supplemental Digital Content Appendix Table 1, available at http://links.lww.com/JPHMP/B56). In addition, organizational satisfaction and perceptions of supervisors working with employees or staff of diverse backgrounds were assessed. A primary comparison of interest in this article was self-identified race and ethnicity. While it is not desirable to combine racial and ethnic groups analytically,10 small group sizes did lead to 4 primary groups: Black/African American staff (n = 5725 respondents in PH WINS 2021); Hispanic/Latino staff (n = 7163); non-Hispanic White staff (n = 23 841); and all other staff (inclusive of Asian staff, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander staff, American Indian and Alaskan Native staff, and staff identifying as 2 or more races; n = 5002).
Descriptive statistics were calculated, with Rao-Scott adjusted chi-square calculations used for bivariate comparisons. We constructed a logistic model with the dependent variable as whether respondents agreed or strongly agreed that their organization prioritized DEI versus all other answers; this represented a dichotomization of the 5-point item relating to “My organization prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion.” Independent variables included the following: demographic and worker characteristics, agency setting, perceived importance of DEI to one's own work, whether respondents perceived supervisors in their organization worked well with employees of different backgrounds, and whether they were satisfied with their organization. Model finalization was assessed with Akaike information criterion, and collinearity was assessed with variance inflation factor analysis.
Statistical analyses were conducted in Stata 16.1 (StataCorp LLC, College Station, Texas). PH WINS 2021 was determined to be exempt from ongoing review by the NORC Institutional Review Board (IRB protocol no. 21-08-422).
Results
Nationwide, the largest racial or ethnic group among the governmental public health workforce is non-Hispanic White staff (54%), followed by Hispanic/Latino (18%), Black/African American (15%), and all others (13%). Differential supervisory status is observed by race and ethnicity, with 64% of managers/executives being White, 13% being Hispanic/Latino, 13% being Black/African American, and 10% all other. In addition, within racial and ethnic groups, demographics of workers differ (Table 1). Approximately 84% of Black/African American staff are women compared with 78% of Hispanic/Latino staff and White staff. Thirty-six percent of Black/African American staff have a graduate degree, as do 28% of Hispanic/Latino staff, 38% of White staff, and 42% of all other staff (37% overall). Thirteen percent of Black/African American staff have any public health training, as do 11% of Hispanic/Latino staff, 15% of White staff, and 17% of all other staff (14% overall). Age distributions are substantially different among staff; 56% of Black/African American staff, 71% of Hispanic/Latino staff, 50% of White staff, and 68% of all other staff are 50 years or younger. Finally, pay differentials are also observed. Thirty-four percent of Black/African American staff make less than $45 000 annually, as do 37% of Hispanic/Latino staff, 23% of White staff, and 21% of all other staff.
TABLE 1. PH WINS 2021 Respondent Characteristics, by Race and Ethnicitya.
| Black/African American (Weighted n = 28 193) | Hispanic/Latino (Weighted n = 33 463) | White (Weighted n = 103 401) | All Other (Weighted n = 24 034) | Total (Weighted N = 189 090) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supervisory status | |||||
| Nonsupervisor | 75% | 78% | 70% | 76% | 73% |
| Supervisor | 17% | 14% | 18% | 15% | 17% |
| Manager | 7% | 6% | 10% | 7% | 8% |
| Executive | 2% | 2% | 3% | 2% | 2% |
| Gender | |||||
| Male | 15% | 20% | 20% | 22% | 20% |
| Female | 84% | 78% | 79% | 74% | 79% |
| Other | 1% | 2% | 1% | 4% | 2% |
| Annualized earnings | |||||
| ≤$45 000 | 34% | 37% | 23% | 21% | 27% |
| $55 001-$75 000 | 43% | 40% | 46% | 39% | 44% |
| $75 000-$105 000 | 17% | 16% | 22% | 27% | 21% |
| $105 001+ | 6% | 7% | 9% | 13% | 8% |
| Highest degree | |||||
| Less than associate degree | 19% | 24% | 12% | 8% | 15% |
| Associate degree | 13% | 13% | 11% | 9% | 11% |
| Bachelor's degree | 33% | 35% | 38% | 40% | 37% |
| Master's degree | 31% | 24% | 32% | 32% | 31% |
| Doctoral degree | 5% | 4% | 6% | 10% | 6% |
| Any public health training (bachelor's/master's/doctoral) | |||||
| Yes | 13% | 11% | 15% | 17% | 14% |
| No | 87% | 89% | 85% | 83% | 86% |
| Setting | |||||
| SHA-CO | 21% | 18% | 36% | 29% | 30% |
| BCHC LHD | 37% | 31% | 14% | 39% | 24% |
| Other LHD | 42% | 50% | 49% | 32% | 46% |
| Position type | |||||
| Administrative and clerical | 41% | 39% | 31% | 35% | 35% |
| Clinical and laboratory | 24% | 23% | 25% | 27% | 25% |
| Public health sciences | 32% | 35% | 42% | 37% | 39% |
| Social services and other | 4% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Age | |||||
| <31 y | 10% | 17% | 13% | 14% | 13% |
| 31-50 y | 46% | 54% | 47% | 54% | 49% |
| 51+ y | 44% | 28% | 40% | 32% | 38% |
Abbreviations: BCHC LHD, Big City Local Health Department; Other LHD, other local health department; SHA-CO, State Health Agency-Central Office.
aAverage margin of error for Black/African American respondents was ±0.9%, ±0.8% for Hispanic/Latino respondents, ±0.5% for White respondents, ±1.0% for other respondents, and ±0.4% overall.
Figure 1 illustrates perceptions of organizational prioritization of DEI by race and ethnicity. Staff were asked to rate their level of agreement with the following statement: “My organization prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion.” Across all employment settings, White respondents reported the highest levels of agreement with the statement (ranging between 70% and 75%) and the Black/African American staff the lowest (range, 55%-65%). Responses among Black/African Americans and Hispanic/Latino staff varied by setting. Among those who work for a local health department (LHD) that is not in a big city, 65% of Black/African American staff and 72.5% of Hispanic/Latino staff perceived that their organization prioritizes DEI. Only 55% of Black/African American and 62.5% of Hispanic/Latino staff working for or at the State Health Agency-Central Office (SHA-CO) agreed that their organization prioritizes DEI. Responses among Latino staff appeared variable by setting, as did other staff (see Supplemental Digital Content Appendix Table 2, available at http://links.lww.com/JPHMP/B57).
FIGURE 1.
Percent of Respondents Who Agree/Strongly Agree That Their Organization Prioritizes DEI, by Race, Ethnicity, and Organization Typea
Abbreviations: BCHC LHD, Big City Local Health Department; DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion; Other LHD, other local health department; SHA-CO, State Health Agency-Central Office.
aPoint estimates are the percentage of respondents who agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “My organization prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion.” Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals. Note axes are shown from 50% to 80%.
Ratings of how well supervisors worked with employees of different backgrounds are shown by race and ethnicity and setting in Figure 2. Differences were observed by race and ethnicity among staff at SHA-COs—74% of White staff compared with 67% of Black/African American staff (P < .001), and 70% of Hispanic/Latino staff (P < .001) agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “My organization prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion.” Statistically significant differences were observed between Black/African American staff (67%) and Hispanic/Latino (70%; P = .007) and White staff (P < .001) in LHDs not in a big city. Differences were not statistically significant in Big City Local Health Departments (BCHC LHDs), except for White staff (73%) versus Black/African American staff sentiment (68%; P = .001).
FIGURE 2.
Percentage of Respondents Who Agree/Strongly Agree That Their Supervisor Works Well With Employees of Different Backgrounds, by Race/Ethnicity and Organization Typea
Abbreviations: BCHC LHD, Big City Local Health Department; Other LHD, other local health department; SHA-CO, State Health Agency-Central Office.
aPoint estimates are percentage of respondents who agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “Supervisor works well with employees of different backgrounds.” Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals. Note axes are shown from 60% to 80%.
Perceptions of organizational prioritization of DEI were correlated with the perception of individual managers around whether their work related to DEI concepts as captured by PH WINS (Figure 3; see Supplemental Digital Content Appendix Figures 1 and 2, available at http://links.lww.com/JPHMP/B58 and http://links.lww.com/JPHMP/B59, respectively). These relationships also appear to be moderated by race and ethnicity. Eighty-nine percent of Black managers did not feel that their organizations prioritized DEI (P = .005). Among Black/African American managers who did feel their organizations prioritize DEI, 92% said they feel it is somewhat or very important in their day-to-day work that they support the development of a diverse public health workforce. Comparatively, 84% of Hispanic/Latino staff perceived their organizations do not prioritize DEI (P < .001). However, among Hispanic/Latino managers who did feel that their organization prioritized DEI (P < .001), 94% perceive that supporting the development of a diverse workforce is somewhat or very important.
FIGURE 3.
Perceived Importance, in Supervisors/Managers Own Work, of DEI-Related Activity: “Support Development of a Diverse Public Health Workforce”a
Abbreviations: DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion; DEI−, respondent does not agree/strongly agree their organization “prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion”; DEI+, respondent agrees/strongly agrees their organization prioritizes “diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
aSupervisors and managers (n = 30 795) were asked to rate how important the item was to their current position, dichotomized as not/somewhat unimportant (0) and somewhat/very important (1). Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals.
Eighty-eight percent of staff who felt their organizations prioritize DEI said it is important they support the development of a diverse workforce compared with 80% who felt their organizations do not prioritize diverse workforce development (P < .001); 89% of all other managers who felt their organization prioritized DEI said it is somewhat/very important in their day-to-day work to support the development of a diverse workforce compared with 87% of all other managers who felt their organizations do not prioritize DEI. Substantial differences in sentiment were not observed by Black, Latino, and all other staff for the item, “Incorporate health equity and social justice principles into planning for programs and services,” by perceived organization DEI priority (Black: DEI+ 89%, DEI− 87%, P = .17; Latino: DEI+ 89%, DEI− 85%, P = .09; all other: DEI+ 83%, DEI− 79%, P = .09) but were for White staff (DEI+ 84%, DEI− 75%, P < .001).
A logistic model was fit, with the dependent variable being agreement or strong agreement that the respondent's organization prioritized DEI (Table 2). Controlling for other independent variables, perception that supervisors worked well with individuals with diverse backgrounds had an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of 5.37 (95% CI, 4.95-5.83; P < .001); organizational satisfaction was similarly high at an AOR of 4.45 (95% CI, 4.19-4.73; P < .001). Supervisory status was not statistically significantly associated with differences in DEI perception. Compared with women, men were somewhat more likely to say their organization prioritized DEI (AOR = 1.11; 95% CI, 1.04-1.19; P = .003) and those identifying as some other way having a lower AOR of indicating their organization prioritized DEI (AOR = 0.65; 95% CI, 0.52-0.81; P < .001). Working at a BCHC LHD and other LHDs was associated with higher odds of agreement about DEI priority (AOR = 1.51 and 1.20, respectively). Indicating that one of the DEI activities asked about on PH WINS was somewhat or very important to one's own work was associated with an AOR of 1.39 of perceiving DEI as a priority to one's own organization, all else equal. Compared with White staff, all other racial and ethnic groups had lower AOR of reporting their organizations prioritized DEI, with Black/African American staff being the lowest (AOR = 0.55; 95% CI, 0.50-0.61), followed by Hispanic/Latino staff (AOR = 0.71; 95% CI, 0.64-0.78) and all other staff (AOR = 0.82; 95% CI, 0.75-0.89). Stratified models show similar effect sizes within racial and ethnic groups (see Supplemental Digital Content Appendix Table 2, available at http://links.lww.com/JPHMP/B57).
TABLE 2. Demographic and Organizational Correlates of Perceptions of Organization Prioritizing DEI (N = 39 330).
| AOR | 95% CI | P | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supervisors work well with employees of different backgrounds | |||
| Strong disagree/disagree/neither | ref | ||
| Agree/strongly agree | 5.37 | 4.95-5.83 | <.001 |
| Satisfied with organization | |||
| Very/somewhat dissatisfied/neither | ref | ||
| Somewhat/very satisfied | 4.45 | 4.19-4.73 | <.001 |
| Supervisory status | |||
| Nonsupervisor | ref | ||
| Supervisor | 0.95 | 0.87-1.04 | .25 |
| Manager | 1.02 | 0.93-1.11 | .70 |
| Executive | 1.25 | 0.93-1.69 | .13 |
| Gender identity | |||
| Female | ref | ||
| Male | 1.11 | 1.04-1.19 | .003 |
| Some other way | 0.65 | 0.52-0.81 | <.001 |
| Setting | |||
| SHA-CO | ref | ||
| BCHC | 1.51 | 1.4-1.63 | <.001 |
| Other LHD/RHD | 1.20 | 1.12-1.3 | <.001 |
| Perceived importance of DEI to one's own work | |||
| None | ref | ||
| At least one area perceived as important | 1.39 | 1.29-1.5 | <.001 |
| Race and Ethnicity | |||
| White | ref | ||
| Black/African American | 0.55 | 0.5-0.61 | <.001 |
| Latino/Hispanic | 0.71 | 0.64-0.78 | <.001 |
| All other | 0.82 | 0.75-0.89 | <.001 |
| Constant | 0.22 | 0.2-0.25 | <.001 |
Abbreviations: AOR, adjusted odds ratio; BCHC LHD, Big City Local Health Department; CI, confidence interval; DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion; Other LHD, other local health department; RHD, regional health department; SHA-CO, State Health Agency-Central Office.
Discussion
This study used PH WINS 2021 data to assess public health employees' perceptions of their organizations' commitment to DEI, their supervisor's ability to work with people from different backgrounds, and how supervisors' perceptions of their organization's commitment to DEI relate to how they think DEI relates to their own work. Findings suggest demographic and organizational-level variations in employee perceptions about their organization's commitment to DEI. The results of this study demonstrate that organizational culture around DEI varies by employee demographics and organizational characteristics with implications for understanding how DEI efforts should be implemented in public health organizations.
Overall, most public health employees perceived that their organization prioritizes DEI. However, those with socially marginalized identities were less likely to perceive that their organization prioritizes DEI. Black/African American staff were less likely to perceive that their organization prioritizes DEI, whereas White staff were the most likely to perceive that DEI is a priority in their organization. Employees who identified their gender as women or some other way were also less likely to perceive that their organization prioritizes DEI. This finding may reflect differences in lived experiences within the workplace. Those in privileged positions are less likely to perceive experiencing discrimination and exclusion based on their social identities,11,12 which can shape their perceptions about how their workplace treats others. These variations in perceptions about organizational commitment to DEI may also reflect differences in how commitment to DEI is understood across different demographic groups.13 For instance, public health employees may interpret what commitment to DEI means differently. Perceptions of commitment to DEI could range from ensuring a diverse public health workforce and working well across cultures to supporting and investing in programs that promote inclusive and equitable public health practices.
These variations may also reflect different perceptions about performative DEI efforts within an organization, such as making symbolic gestures or statements about DEI, yet organizational policies and practices perpetuate racial inequities or promote exclusion. Thus, organizations may be “performing” DEI without meaningfully committing to the resources and organizational changes needed to foster and sustain diverse and inclusive environments.14 Nuances in how the public health workforce defines and understands DEI were not assessed in this study; future research should examine differences in how public health employees understand DEI, what it means to be committed to DEI at the organizational level, and its relationship to perceptions about organizational commitment to DEI.
Commitment to DEI may be related to overall organizational environment and culture. For instance, those organizations that prioritize DEI may foster more inclusive, welcoming, and psychologically safe work environments such as being more open to supporting employees' needs or helping employees feel like they belong, which can impact job satisfaction and retention. Our findings suggest that public health staff report being more satisfied in organizations they perceive as prioritizing DEI. Job satisfaction is also associated with lower intentions of leaving employment in government public health.15 Previous research has shown that retaining a diverse workforce is necessary to promote and achieve health equity.16 Although many public health employees report enjoying their work, job satisfaction could be improved by increasing organizational support.8 Perceptions about organizational support could include whether and how the organization promotes DEI and inclusive work environments as well as whether the organization values employees' efforts to promote DEI in their work. These perceptions may have implications for how and how well public health organizations address structural racism and other social barriers to achieving public health equity, which is a Public Health 3.0 priority.17
Among supervisors, our findings show that perceiving that their organization prioritizes DEI is associated with their beliefs that DEI is important to at least one area of their work. This may be due to organizations making it clear to employees how DEI matters to their work, such as by embedding DEI throughout the organization's work rather than relying on performative approaches to DEI. However, this also varies by race and ethnicity. As calls increase for incorporating DEI into public health practice to achieve health equity, improving perceptions about how much one's organization prioritizes DEI may also foster individual beliefs about the importance of DEI in their own work. Previous research has shown that public health professionals vary on their beliefs about how public health agencies should engage in health equity–related activities18; DEI is often perceived as one part of achieving health equity.19
Study findings also suggest variability in perceptions about organizational commitment to DEI by setting. For example, staff were more likely to agree that their organization prioritizes DEI in BCHC LHDs to SHA-COs. This may reflect the BCHC workforce and local contexts in which staff work, which are more likely to be more diverse than other types of health departments.4,8 There may also be differences in organizational cultures across settings that shape perceptions about commitment to DEI. Future research should more fully examine setting-related factors that are associated with organizational commitment to DEI to identify setting-specific needs to improve DEI.
As the public health workforce continues to face staff shortages due to retirements and other reasons,4,8,20 research shows that public health employees who report feeling satisfied with their jobs are less likely to leave.8 In addition, promoting and retaining a diverse workforce remain a public health workforce priority.21 Thus, ensuring that diversity is valued in the workplace22 and increasing perceptions of organizational commitment to DEI, especially among public health professionals who have identities that have been marginalized, may be key to retaining public health employees, along with attracting a diverse and inclusive workforce to the field of governmental public health.
Strengths and limitations
This study has several strengths and limitations. This study is based on nationally representative data of the public health workforce. Another strength is that the racial and ethnic diversity in the study data enabled analyses across racial and ethnic groups. Conceptually, we were interested in whether respondents perceived that their organization prioritized DEI; this may be different than whether leadership did so in practice or perceived they did so. There has long been a demonstrated disconnect between perceptions of leaders and other staff in where organizational priorities lie and so discordance may be expected.4,23 An additional limitation is that this is an association-based study and not a causal one. Thus, causality of DEI perceptions was not able to be determined in this study. Finally, this study did not capture intersectional identities, preventing analyses based on multiple social identities, such as race and gender (eg, Black women).
Conclusion
DEI is a topic that has long been of interest to those in the political science and social justice movements and more recently in public health practice and public discourse broadly. This interest reflects the recognition of the moral and practical imperatives of DEI in the workplace. Within this context, a large-scale, nationally representative survey conducted in 2021 and early 2022 of state and local public health staff showed that just 70% of the workforce overall feels their organization prioritizes DEI, but rates were lower among Black/African American staff. Fostering commitments to DEI in the field of public health begins with leadership.15 How well leaders work with diverse communities can indicate how DEI is put into action. Future work should examine how to effectively develop organizational cultures that support DEI in the public health workforce and agencies.
Implications for Policy & Practice
Generic calls to action to diversify the workforce will be insufficient to attract and retain diverse public health professionals if their organizations are not perceived to be committed to DEI.
Study findings show there are opportunities to increase organizational commitment to DEI and to build leadership's capacities to work well with diverse populations.
Building a diverse public health pipeline will not bring public health closer to equity if public health staff are working in organizations lacking commitment to DEI.
Public health agencies should also understand and target the demographic gaps in perceptions about their commitment to DEI.
Supplementary Material
Footnotes
PH WINS was funded by the de Beaumont Foundation and conducted by the de Beaumont Foundation in collaboration with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
Dr Leider was a paid consultant to the Foundation for PH WINS. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Supplemental digital content is available for this article. Direct URL citations appear in the printed text and are provided in the HTML and PDF versions of this article on the journal's Web site (http://www.JPHMP.com).
Contributor Information
Jessica L. Owens-Young, Email: jessica@american.edu.
Jonathon P. Leider, Email: leid0022@umn.edu.
Caryn N. Bell, Email: cbell10@tulane.edu.
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