RTL Nieuws researched the boards of directors of 74 hospitals and 26 nursing home and home care organizations. This shows that all administrators, except one, have no other ethnic background than Dutch.
“Very little,” says Tamara van Ark, Minister for Medical Care and Sports. “It is important that this is a topic of discussion in healthcare institutions.”
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‘Not normal’
“Everyone apparently thinks it’s very normal, but it’s really not normal,” said Marcel Levi, CEO of University College London Hospitals and former chairman of the AMC. “The people you work for in healthcare are diverse. You want to see that reflected in the board.”
If that doesn’t happen, according to Levi, you are depriving staff and patients. “Because of the subtle or specific issues that play a role in certain population groups.”
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More color in the top
Annemaria Sherwood is a nursing specialist in training (master’s degree in elderly care). She has been working in healthcare since 2003. At the training she is in her class with 30 students. She is the only one with a different cultural background.
“When you are in the minority, in this case of color, you dare to be yourself less. You have the feeling that it is 29 to 1 when it comes to pure color.” Nevertheless, she does not allow herself to be prevented from studying and sharing her knowledge.
Sherwood would like to see more people come up higher with color. “That can also attract other people.” In addition, according to her, it is also important because of the aging population. “We need extra care personnel for that. If you can only get one group, because the other is afraid of racism and discrimination, I don’t think that’s possible.”
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The results of the RTL Nieuws inventory are no surprise, says Wouter Koolmees, Minister of Social Affairs and Employment. “We see it more often in sectors of the Dutch economy.”
Policymakers see it, says Koolmees, and want to do something about it, but the process takes a long time. “That has to do with training and offering opportunities for talent. Often the board members are also elected for four to five years.”
Enough opportunities?
Koolmees: “It is always the question at the top: are the talents not there or are people not getting the opportunity to show themselves and prove themselves? I think the second is more often the case. People should be given more opportunities. and seize those opportunities. “
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How did we research it?
The research into cultural diversity in healthcare institutions consisted of two parts. First of all, we looked at the composition of the boards of directors. We also looked at the diversity policy in the annual reports: how often is cultural diversity mentioned and in what way?
Board of Directors
- In the study, we looked at all 74 hospitals and 27 largest nursing homes, 26 of which collaborate with home care providers
- Together they have 232 board members.
- One of those board members has a different ethnic background. That amounts to 0.43 percent.
- In the field of male / female diversity, healthcare institutions do above average. The top includes 93 women (40 percent). That is a lot higher than with listed companies. There it is percentage at 12 percent.
Annual reports
- 71 annual reports were reviewed. It was examined whether hospitals say something about (ethnic) diversity in their policy.
- 6 hospitals mentioned cultural diversity in their report.
- 1 hospital specifically appoints this to the board.
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Reflection of society
Healthcare sector organizations Dutch Hospitals Association (NVZ) and ActiZ are in favor of a reflection of society. “Anyone can always apply for a board position of a hospital,” says NVZ. ActiZ: “We applaud it when ethnic diversity is also added to the diverse palette of care.”
Trade union FNV sees the outcome as a problem, but at the same time indicates that it is a difficult subject. “If you want to measure ethnicity, you have to register by origin. That is difficult due to the privacy legislation,” said vice-president Kitty Jong.
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