Leadership Matters: How Hidden Biases Perpetuate Institutional Racism in Organizations

Walter, Angela Wangari; Ruiz, Yvonne; Tourse, Robbie W. C.; Kress, Helene; Morningstar, Betty; MacArthur, Bet; Daniels, Ann Michelle

doi:10.1080/23303131.2016.1249584

Cited by 37 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Within an organization, assessments of climate and culture can be conducted with an equity lens. For example, one could assess the perception of the commitment of leaders to equity; employee attitudes, motivations, performance on equity issues (including the presence of hidden biases [130]); internal policies supporting equity; and the diversity of an organization. Organizations could also evaluate existing programs and policies for their reach and impact on health equity.…”

Section: Engage Organizations In Internal and External Equity Effortsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation science should give higher priority to health equity

et al. 2021

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Background There is growing urgency to tackle issues of equity and justice in the USA and worldwide. Health equity, a framing that moves away from a deficit mindset of what society is doing poorly (disparities) to one that is positive about what society can achieve, is becoming more prominent in health research that uses implementation science approaches. Equity begins with justice—health differences often reflect societal injustices. Applying the perspectives and tools of implementation science has potential for immediate impact to improve health equity. Main text We propose a vision and set of action steps for making health equity a more prominent and central aim of implementation science, thus committing to conduct implementation science through equity-focused principles to achieve this vision in U.S. research and practice. We identify and discuss challenges in current health disparities approaches that do not fully consider social determinants. Implementation research challenges are outlined in three areas: limitations of the evidence base, underdeveloped measures and methods, and inadequate attention to context. To address these challenges, we offer recommendations that seek to (1) link social determinants with health outcomes, (2) build equity into all policies, (3) use equity-relevant metrics, (4) study what is already happening, (5) integrate equity into implementation models, (6) design and tailor implementation strategies, (7) connect to systems and sectors outside of health, (8) engage organizations in internal and external equity efforts, (9) build capacity for equity in implementation science, and (10) focus on equity in dissemination efforts. Conclusions Every project in implementation science should include an equity focus. For some studies, equity is the main goal of the project and a central feature of all aspects of the project. In other studies, equity is part of a project but not the singular focus. In these studies, we should, at a minimum, ensure that we “leave no one behind” and that existing disparities are not widened. With a stronger commitment to health equity from funders, researchers, practitioners, advocates, evaluators, and policy makers, we can harvest the rewards of the resources being invested in health-related research to eliminate disparities, resulting in health equity.

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Section: Engage Organizations In Internal and External Equity Effortsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation science should give higher priority to health equity

et al. 2021

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“…Racialized employees within social/human services organizations experience institutional racism (Walter et al, 2016;Sethi & Williams, 2016;Sethi, 2017). For example, immigrant racialized employees working in health care sector(s) in Ontario, Canada, experienced overt racism and microaggression (Sethi, 2014;Sethi & Williams, 2016).…”

Section: Diversity and Workplacementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ingrained institutional racism in organizational norms and policies and hidden biases justifies the marginalization of racialized employees by the dominant White staff, further contributing to their economic and social exclusion. If unchecked, these organizational biases have a powerful effect in maintaining invisible structural barriers in social/human services organizations (Walter et al, 2016) forcing them to assimilate and conform (Collins, 2013). Conformity expectations permeate the organizational culture of most social/human services organizations, which in turn limit the political, social, and protective freedoms of workers (Collins, 2013).…”

Section: Organizational Culture Within Social/human Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organizational culture, diversity, and employees’ health in social/human services: A systematic review

Sethi

Vito

Ongbanouekeni³

2021

Int Health Trends & Persp

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Leadership and organizational culture significantly impact employees' work performance and job satisfaction, but less is known about employee health and well-being within a diverse work environment. This study systematically reviewed 23 studies published between 2007-2019 that addressed organizational culture, diversity/workplace, and employee health within North American social/human services organizations. Results highlighted three themes: 1) Organizational Culture within Social/Human Services, 2) Diversity and Workplace, and 3) Employee Health at the Intersection of Organizational Culture and Diversity. Conclusions emphasize the need for organizations to adjust to changing workforce demographics and promote an equitable workplace culture.

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“…Moreover, structural inequalities are reproduced and maintained through organizational culture and leadership styles (Walter et al, 2017). Structural racism is impacted by leadership with traditional "White values and norms," and this supports an "organizational status quo," and perpetuates inequities (Walter et al, 2017, p. 216).…”

Section: Hso's and Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing change: role of leadership and diversity management

Vito

Sethi

2020

JOCM

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PurposeThe lived paid work experiences of two women (a European Canadian-born and a South Asian immigrant) demonstrate how low-quality leader–member exchanges and poor diversity management negatively influence employees' health, job satisfaction and retention during a period of major organizational change.Design/methodology/approachThis paper combined a narrative case study with auto ethnography to examine the lived paid work experiences of the two female authors and identify common patterns of meaning within the data.FindingsThe analysis of personalized accounts demonstrate the damaging results of a failed change management initiative when leaders did not follow an organizational change model and used an authoritarian leadership style. Further, the low-quality leader–member exchanges and poor diversity management reduced authors' feelings of inclusion and negatively impacted their emotional and physical health, job satisfaction, and retention.Research limitations/implicationsNew knowledge gained about leader–member exchange and diversity management has implications not only for leaders, but also human service managers. The data represents the authors' two perspectives, constraining generalizability. Larger samples of employees' narratives from diverse cultural/work backgrounds would be valuable to inform organizational change.Practical implicationsThe paper provides practical reasons for leadership training and skill development in change management models.Social implicationsGiven global demographic diversity, the findings are relevant to organizations, highlighting the importance of creating a climate of inclusion for workers' job satisfaction and retention and organizational success.Originality/valueWhile the sample size (n = 2) is very small, using a combination of personal experience methods offered insights into the complexity of leader–member exchange and diversity management from workers' perspectives, and went beyond successful cases, adding value to organizational change research.

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Leadership Matters: How Hidden Biases Perpetuate Institutional Racism in Organizations

Cited by 37 publications

References 12 publications

Implementation science should give higher priority to health equity

Implementation science should give higher priority to health equity

Organizational culture, diversity, and employees’ health in social/human services: A systematic review

Managing change: role of leadership and diversity management

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