Women’s College Hospital

Women’s College Hospital’s commitment to diversity runs deep. Perhaps this stems from the institution’s connections with the suffragist movement. The hospital was founded in 1883 to provide medically trained women the rare opportunity to practice.

While today’s organization is committed to women’s health, as early as 2001, the board took the lead on building a more diverse organization with a two-pronged approach: change ourselves; enact policy to change the organization.

The Hospital undertook a targeted recruitment strategy resulting in new diverse faces and voices at the boardroom table. This was coupled with ongoing education efforts to build a new board culture that would recognize the intrinsic value of diversity, thereby cultivating a rich and sustained contribution of expertise and insight.

In 2008 the board created an Equity Vision for the Hospital, extending the principles and benefits of diversity embraced by the board, down through the entire hospital organization. The operation’s Diversity Committee was replaced by a new Board Equity Committee and the role of Equity Champion was established as a governance accountability strategy.

Thirty per cent of the board now comprises ethnic and racial minorities. Today’s diverse board recognizes that delivering on a health equity agenda is good public policy. Their leadership has been instrumental in both promoting and facilitating increased access to underserved communities thereby promoting early intervention, and working to ensure equitable access to health care for all.