Moving the Needle to Diversify Health Tech

By SABAH PERVEZ AND ALYX STERNLICHT There is a dire need for the health tech workforce to keep pace with the changing racial makeup of the nation.  According to  the Pew Research Center study,  from 1960 to 2010, the percentages of Americans identifying themselves as Black, Hispanic, Asian, or “other” increased from just 15 percent of the population to 36 percent of the population:       Black: Increased from 10 to 12 percent       Hispanic: Increased from 4 to 15 percent       Asian: increased from 1 to 5 percent       “Other”: Increased from 0 to 3 percent We live in a country whose racial makeup grows to be more diverse every day, however, the  nation’s tech workforce does not reflect the diversity of the nation in the least bit.  To dig deeper, the nation’s health tech workforce is no better in terms of its diversity and inclusion of minorities. While other tech companies may be able to get by with a certain racial makeup, it’s extremely necessary for the health tech industry to not follow this pattern mainly because of the diverse customers that these tech products are being made for: patients.   Health 2.0 rolled out the first Diversity in Health Tech Mentorship program, TECHquality, earlier this year. Right now, there is an open applications for Mentors and Mentees for the second round of the mentorship program. Mentees must self-identify as part of an underrepresented group of health tech. This can range from peo...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Catalyst @ Health 2.0 Source Type: blogs