It’s Time to Confront the Health Equity Problem

Recruiter. Government regulation expert. Employee benefits administrator. Payroll processor. Therapist and confidante. Strategic advisor. HR leaders, if updating your job description in the last few years has felt like you’re piling up a plate at Thanksgiving, you’re not alone. 

There’s no question that you and your team deserve a long winter’s nap. But before you do, there’s one more challenge for us all to solve together. Because in our recent conversations with customers here at Jellyvision, one theme has remained present: diversity, equity and inclusion is a top priority as employers look for ways to rectify our country’s long history of discrimination and make way for a more inclusive workforce.

And as we ask how company leaders can better support and create space for a diverse range of employees, there’s one blind spot where we should zone in: health equity.

While it’s clear that the socioeconomic disparities in our healthcare system deserve some much-needed attention, health equity isn’t yet at the forefront of our conversation about DEI in the workplace—and it should be. 

Why? Because we still have so much work to do. Among countless statistics, Black Americans face higher mortality rates from heart disease, cancer, and strokes than white Americans. 52% of women say that their weight has been a barrier to receiving appropriate healthcare. And 1 in 4 insurance providers don’t offer coverage for same-sex couples. 

In short, making health equity a reality for our people is not only imperative—it’s urgent. That’s why we surveyed HR pros and employees nationwide to find out where there are still inequities when it comes to providing our workforces with the healthcare they need, and what (if anything) companies are doing to address it. 

Let’s jump in.