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Patroski Lawson, founder, KPM Group DC, is addressing inequities in rare disease, brain health & African American Men in Biotech.
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As a young African American man growing up in the South, I dealt with my fair share of inequality and was plagued with feelings of not measuring up to my peers. When I moved into my professional life in the healthcare industry, I often found that I was the only person of color at the table. These experiences were defining, and I vowed to change that if I was ever given the chance.
Being a convener and bridge builder who brings awareness to and advocacy for rare diseases and brain health, I’ve encountered brilliant minds in healthcare. However, the lack of minority representation in the industry is still prevalent, particularly in biotech and biopharma. If healthcare companies want to serve communities properly, then they need to draw in more diverse talent.
Minorities Are Missing In Key Healthcare Roles
At its core, healthcare is meant to serve all people, yet its workforce doesn’t accurately represent those it’s meant to serve. In biotech and biopharma, African Americans represent only 6% of the workforce, Asian employees represent 21%, Hispanic/Latinx employees 7% and Native American employees are less than 1%. This lack of diversity is amplified at the C-suite level, where people of color make up only 24% of executive teams and 28% of CEOs. Minority entrepreneurs also face an uphill battle when it comes to funding, with roughly only 1% of venture capital going to Black-owned startups, according to a 2021 report by Crunchbase.
Part of the problem is that there aren’t enough training or mentorship opportunities in healthcare that cater to minority populations. What’s more, it’s hard for emerging professionals to picture themselves in an industry where they don’t already see people who look like them working or having successful careers.
How Biotech Companies Can Create Change
It’s clear much work needs to be done to create more opportunities for minorities in healthcare and specifically biotech. I’ve witnessed the power that convening has to make a meaningful difference, so here are my top three tips to help company leaders bring minorities together and increase representation.
Build A Workplace Culture That Celebrates Living One’s Truth
People of all beliefs and backgrounds should be uplifted for choosing to be their authentic selves. When an organization recognizes its people for who they are, more diverse groups will want to work for and grow with the company and industry.
To build this type of culture, it’s imperative for organizations and business leaders to show empathy. It’s not enough to simply say they’re empathetic; they must walk the talk. This involves encouraging all employees—especially the minorities—to speak out about the challenges they deal with both at work and outside of it. That allows them to feel seen and understood, which can increase job satisfaction and employee retention.
Make The Effort To Connect
For me, connecting with others is crucial for building authentic, lasting relationships that inspire conversation and drive change. To accomplish this, business leaders must create environments where people are inspired to achieve more together. Encouraging conversations that facilitate and connect complex ideas and solutions can help increase minority representation in healthcare.
This kind of internal convening can take many forms, but intimate settings allow leaders and employees to get to know each other as people, including their beliefs, passions, hopes and dreams. When we view people as just employees or colleagues, we miss out on their entire being and the extent that they can positively contribute to the organization and its culture.
Create ERGs & Professional Groups That Want To Make A Difference
Employee resource groups (ERGs) are voluntary employee-led groups that can help foster a diverse, inclusive workplace. Leaders in healthcare have an increased responsibility to encourage and support these groups, as they can help attract and retain diverse talent. Executives and HR departments can work directly with employees to create impactful ERGs.
It’s important for everyone to be on the same page when it comes to an ERG’s goals and how they’ll be accomplished. Overall, it’s helpful to think about ERGs as ways to grow minority representation and leverage our influence in the biotech industry. It’s also an opportunity to discuss what we as minorities can and will do to ensure greater diversity and inclusion.
It’s clear that the time is now to move the needle on DEI in the healthcare industry. Encouraging—and achieving—better representation of minorities in biotech is possible!
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