Some reflections after last week at #rewired in light of Frank Hester's comments....
In August 2023, Our One HealthTech Manchester Hub (Bernadette Clarke, Charlotte Lewis, Nosheen Hussain) initiated a movement to increase #LeadershipDiversity in the #NHS. This project stemmed from the insightful roundtable discussions we led at events like the Digital Academy Leadership Summit (2022) and HETT North (2023 & 2024)… We received positive feedback, with some noting the innovation of our topic amids predominantly ‘technical’ discussions - an idea worth exploring further in another post!
We subsequently submitted a proposal to speak at #rewired24 on "Increasing leadership diversity in digital health in the NHS".
😎 Our idea…To create a movement for diversity and inclusion rooted in evidence. Our team collected recent quantitative and qualitative data on colleagues' professional journey in #DDaT, their perception on #rolemodels and #supportnetworks, and their #advice. Check the first comment for a link to our survey analysis, and stay tuned as our blog will be published soon on the OHT website.
😎 Our goal…To inspire and empower our audience to drive change within their spheres of influence. Our tag #BeDDaTchange
😎 Reactions at #rewired24 and post-Rewired expanded our audience’s engagement, especially in light of last week’s news regarding “#racist, #sexist and #violent” remarks by Frank Hester.
💜 👏 I am proud of the digital health community for swiftly condemning the behaviour of this IT supplier. Kudos to Jon Hoeksma, The Shuri Network and all those engaged in immediate conversations on this platform and X, including Rafiah A., Dr Rizwan Malik, among others. Amanda Pritchard made clear her shock.
💥 Ayesha Rahim, Hassan Chaudhury and Victoria Betton are spearheading the #ethicalcharter. This morning, Sonia Patel FBCS Patel addressed the racist remarks on LinkedIn and X and voiced support for the charter, reaffirming her commitment to #anti-racism and #allyship.
🙏 A Call for Action to each of us - A #culturalshift
Addressing #racism, #discrimination, and #lackofinclusion requires a cultural shift towards #inclusion and #respect. This shift challenges people's thinking, their belief systems, attitudes, and behaviours- many of which are deeply ingrained. Leading a #culturetransformation is not easy and can't be achieved overnight, but it´s the responsibility of every leader to foster an inclusive workplace environment.
Thank you Cigna Healthcare for recognizing us and our amazing People Team! #WorkLifeBalance #WellBeing cc: June M. Dinitz, SPHR Jamie Nelson, MS, SPHR