Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) is on a journey to better health care for all North Carolinians. Follow along to learn about our goals, see our progress and stay informed of what's next. We won't stop until health care is better for all.
OUR PEOPLE:
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
State of Blue Cross NC > Our People > Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
Dr. Tunde Sotunde MD, MBA, FAAP
Our DEI Council is led by CEO Tunde Sotunde. The DEI Council has established a strategy for our entire enterprise and a roadmap for realizing our vision, both internally and in our work for our customers and communities. In 2021, Pam Diggs, MPH, joined our team as our Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. While Blue Cross NC has been on this journey for many years, Pam has added a great deal to our comprehensive approach to DEI that will carry us through 2022 and beyond.
DEI is embedded in our purpose of better health care for all.
Driving Forces for DEI
We have focused our DEI work into three areas: Increasing DEI representation at all levels of leadership, advancing health equity among our members and communities and establishing strategic partnerships for economic mobility that support our health care equity goals and company’s purpose. more...
We collect and analyze data that will help us focus our efforts. Our DEI Enterprise Goals are our driving force, and measurable targets and transparency about our progress are key as we move forward. An internal DEI foundation will help us achieve our health care equity goals, such as improving behavioral, maternal and infant health outcomes in North Carolina’s diverse communities.
Diversity in Leadership Hiring
We strive to cultivate a work environment where employees of all backgrounds and identities are encouraged to contribute their perspectives, advocate for themselves and their communities, and flourish in their chosen career paths. A diverse workforce results in innovation, improved service and more robust progress toward true health equity in our communities. To this end, every interview for a leadership role must include a diverse hiring panel where every member is trained on mitigating bias.
Educating and Empowering our Workforce
In our efforts to further embed DEI into every aspect of our culture, we have created a comprehensive DEI Style Guide and DEI Glossary for all employees and departments of our company. These are living documents that we periodically reassess to ensure the guidance and terms we use are current, as language evolves to become more inclusive. We have also developed and launched a universal, mandatory Racial and Health Equity web-based training module. more...
This training will ensure that everyone at Blue Cross NC understands the history and complexity of the barriers to good health that North Carolinians face. It equips our employees to face and challenge their own unconscious biases and join our efforts for greater equity.
Safe and Brave Spaces
With our Conversations that Matter series, we provide safe and brave spaces for employees to share lived experiences and offer ideas for supporting healing, growth and further action for DEI. In 2021, we conducted seven conversations, ranging from improving our company’s culture (e.g., “Corporate Culture: Pronouns and How to Say My Name”), to processing global events (e.g., “Space of Hope, Healing and Unity During India’s COVID-19 Crisis”), to working in solidarity with our employees and communities to address racial injustice and systemic inequities (e.g., “Standing with Asian American Communities”).
Refining Our Roadmap
In collaboration with The Diversity Movement, we have conducted confidential employee listening sessions. The Diversity Movement collected data from these sessions to assess opportunities for improvement and refine our roadmap to our vision for a more diverse, equitable and inclusive Blue Cross NC. more...
We also seek to increase capabilities for collecting Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) data to ensure an equitable workplace as well as improve our services to our members and communities. A focus on DEI is essential to performing every aspect of our work for our customers and communities. DEI is embedded in our purpose of better health care for all.
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